Scangarello's Fingerprints Are on Two of the Most Noteworthy QB Debuts in NFL History

Rich Scangarello, the QB whisperer?

The Denver Broncos aggressively pursued Rich Scangarello earlier this year to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy under new head coach Vic Fangio. At the time, Scangarello was the quarterbacks coach of the San Francisco 49ers. 

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan didn't make it easy on GM John Elway to get Scangarello in the building, denying the Broncos' initial overtures to interview Scangarello. Eventually, the back channels were worked and Shanahan relented. 

Scangarello got the interview and the job. 

The Broncos were interested in Scangarello, a coach who'd never called plays in the NFL, for a multitude of reasons. Primarily, though, it was because of Scangarello's track record in developing young quarterbacks and his experience in the Shanahan strain of the West Coast Offense. 

While it didn't appear that Scangarello's QB magic had a discernible impact on Joe Flacco through the first eight weeks, Brandon Allen's Week 9 performance was a different story. 

Allen started his first NFL game vs. the Cleveland Browns last week, going 12-of-20 for 193 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with a QB rating of 125.6 and leading the Broncos to their third win of the season. Allen's 125.6 rating was the third-highest figure in team history for a player making his Broncos starting debut. 

On top of that distinction, Allen became just the fifth player since the 1970 NFL merger to throw for multiple touchdowns with no interceptions and record at least a QB rating of 125 in his NFL debut as a starter. Among the four other signal-callers in that rarified air is none other than former Scangarello protege Nick Mullens. 

Just one year removed from entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent, Mullens also received his first career start in Week 9 of the 2018 season vs. the Oakland Raiders. What ensued was one of the most remarkable debuts in NFL history. 

Mullens went 16-of-22 for 262 yards and three touchdowns, with zero interceptions (like Allen), posting a whopping 151.9 QB rating. He would go onto start eight games for the Niners in 2018, winning only three contests but producing at a surprisingly high level considering his draft pedigree (or lack thereof). 

Mullens was more than a pet project of Rich Scangarello's. Scangarello not only identified Mullens at Conference USA's Southern Miss during the 2017 pre-draft process, but he also went to bat on his behalf, vouching for him with Shanahan to ensure a spot on the Niners' early 90-man roster. 

That put him squarely under Scangarello's wing, in the Shanahan system and the rest, as they say, is history. Mullens would go onto spend his rookie year on the Niners practice squad before finally getting his shot to play in 2018 after Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL and C.J. Beathard suffered a wrist injury. Mullens finished his eight-game stretch as a starter with a 64.2 completion percentage, 2,277 passing yards, 13 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. 

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Extrapolating those numbers over a full 16-game season, Mullens was on pace to eclipse 4,500 yards passing with 26 touchdowns. One year removed from going undrafted out of an FBS school. 

You can see why Elway's interest was piqued. And now, in light of Allen's encouraging performance last week, Scangarello's fingerprints are on two of the NFL's top-5 most efficient QB debuts all-time. 

It's hard to say why Scangarello and Flacco couldn't jive. What matters is that Allen took to his coaching and scheme like a duck to water. Perhaps it has something to do with the age and relative blank slate of Allen and Mullens, who were both so young in their respective NFL development that neither had preconceived notions or a 'my way' of doing things. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks after all. 

It could also be an optimistic harbinger of what's to come when Drew Lock finally makes his Broncos debut. Expecting Lock to post a QB rating north of 120 when he finally makes his NFL debut might be a bit much, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that he'll acquit himself well and reflect positively on his offensive coordinator, and QBs Coach T.C. McCartney.

McCartney, for what it's worth, deserves some of the same credit for the impressive debut of Allen and Mullens, as he's not only the current QBs Coach in Denver but was also an offensive assistant in San Francisco from 2017-18 while Mullens developed. 

When it comes to analyzing the implications of Brandon Allen's first start, the sample size is too small to draw too many over-arching conclusions. We need to see more, obviously, but it was definitely encouraging. 

It also restored some faith in the fanbase in Scangarello as a play-caller and a developer of talent. But it's the latter half of that equation that's got me excited about Scangarello. 

The Broncos have struggled to develop quarterback talent post-Super Bowl 50. If Scangarello can reach Allen like he did Mullens, the odds are encouraging that he'll be able to do the same with a young Drew Lock and polish what was a rough stone heading into the 2019 draft into a shiny gem. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.