The Broncos have hired four new coaches – a head coach, an offensive coordinator, a quarterback coach/passing game coordinator and an offensive line coach.

All four are white.

A year ago, when Joe Ellis announced the search for a general manager, the Broncos’ CEO conceded that the franchise was straggling in diversity and inclusion.

“We’re getting better as an organization, but we’re not where we need to be.’’

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In late January of 2021 I wrote that although more than 75 percent of the Broncos players were African Americans, more than 80 percent of the organization’s executives, administrators, directors, coaches, and scouts were white men.

The situation at Dove Valley hasn’t changed.

It must now.

George Paton was selected general manager over two black men who were interviewed. He recently claimed that the Broncos would have a more diverse environment.

Then, on Tuesday at almost the same time as when Ellis, as excepted, officially stated in a press release, not a public forum, that the Broncos’ ownership would be sold, a class-action discrimination lawsuit against the NFL was filed by Dolphins’ fired coach Brian Flores with accusations aimed at his former team, the Giants, and the Broncos.

Flores, a minority candidate for the Broncos’ head coaching job in 2019, alleged that the five-man search committee did not seriously consider him for the vacant position, which had been held by Vance Joseph, and the interview was “a sham’’. He specifically named Ellis and John Elway as being an hour late for the interview, looking “disheveled’’, and “it was obvious,’’ Flores claimed “they had been drinking heavily the night before.’’ Vic Fangio became the coach in Denver, and Flores was hired in south Florida.

The league and the Broncos have strongly disputed the assertions by Flores, with the Broncos vowing they have “notes, analysis and evaluations” from that meeting in Providence, R.I., and the allegations are “blatantly false.’’ The team also has released a transcript of Flores talking to the Denver media in a usual opposing coaches’ interview via conference call before the Broncos-Dolphins game Nov. 22, 2020.

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At that time Flores said the meeting with the Broncos “went well. It was great to meet with the executives there and spend some time with them. I think Vic is a great coach. They got the right coach and the right people in place. . . It was a good experience for me personally.’’

Flores’ lawsuit particularly was untimely for the Broncos when they are involved with recognizing new ownership and new coaches and the team has been in shambles for the past five seasons.

The Broncos once were briefly ahead of the curve, with the first black quarterback in the AFL or NFL, Marlin Briscoe, in 1968. However, he started only five games, was traded after the season, and never played quarterback again.

Joseph was the only Broncos’ black coach – for just two seasons. He had five African American assistant coaches (including strength and conditioning), one black coordinator, Joe Woods, and consultant DeMarcus Ware in 2018. In the most recent season Fangio employed five black assistants.

Nathaniel Hackett was selected the Broncos’ 18th coach after the Broncos interviewed nine other candidates, including three black coaches – Jared Mayo, Aaron Glenn and Eric Bieniemy.

It was wondered in Colorado why the Broncos didn’t reach out again to Flores.

So far the five ’21 black assistants – running backs coach Curtis Modkins, offensive quality control coach Chris Cook, secondary coach Christian Parker, defensive quality control coach Nathaniel Willingham and assistant strength and conditioning coach Korey Jones – have been retained.

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Hackett will have two black coordinators – Rams secondary coach Ejiro Evero, who was his college teammate at UC-Davis and Rams assistant special teams coach Dwayne Stukes. Both are 14-year veteran assistants, but neither has been a coordinator.

The 42-year-old Hackett is dismissing the 62-year-old Fangio’s older assistants and replacing them with younger coaches. It’s obvious that Hackett purposefully is interviewing candidates in their 30s and 40s. Modkins possibly could be the oldest coach at 51 and Stukes next at 45. Klint Kubiak, an offensive assistant with the Broncos from 2016-18 and offensive coordinator of the Vikings in ’21, is 34. The other two assistants are 38 and 42.

The Chiefs will have eight African American coaches at the Super Bowl, and the Rams 10. Hackett may end up with eight or more.

While denying the Flores charges, the Broncos finally are trying to catch up in diversity and inclusion.