The Broncos’ head coaching search appears to be narrowing quickly.
Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn dropped out of contention Thursday to return to the Cowboys for a third season working with head coach Mike McCarthy. Last week, Jim Harbaugh pulled out to stay at Michigan.
Four other candidates, if not formally eliminated, are well down Denver’s top set of options, according to league sources. Those are defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, former Detroit and Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell, former Stanford head coach David Shaw and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
That leaves San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton as potential contenders, though a second interview has not been set up with either.