Vance Joseph‘s status in Arizona remains in limbo, but with Jonathan Gannon likely to make changes (and already connected to other names on the defensive side of the ball), it appears likely the veteran coach will be elsewhere in 2023. On that note, Joseph has received an unusual request.
The Broncos are interested in interviewing him for their defensive coordinator position, Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter). Joseph has spent the past four years in Arizona, trekking south after the Broncos fired him in 2019. Joseph remains under contract with the Cardinals, who could block the move. But the fact the Broncos are seeking this interview in the first place offers intrigue.
While Joseph is not long removed from his two-year tenure as Denver’s head coach, the Broncos do have a new regime in place. John Elway hired Joseph in 2017, famously going with the defense-oriented leader after a process that included a Kyle Shanahan interview, and pulled the plug after Joseph’s 11-21 tenure. The Broncos now have George Paton in place as GM and Sean Payton running the show as head coach. The team features new ownership as well.
It would be interesting to see if Joseph goes through with the interview, but it would not be unprecedented to see a team’s former head coach return as its defensive coordinator. It’s happened twice in the AFC West in the not-so-distant past. The Broncos brought back Wade Phillips in 2015, doing so after firing him as HC (to pave way for Mike Shanahan‘s 1995 hire). Less time had passed for the Chiefs, who rehired Gunther Cunningham — their head coach from 1999-2000 — as DC in 2004. Cunningham stayed on as DC under Dick Vermeil and Herm Edwards for five seasons.
The Cardinals interviewed Joseph for their HC position early in their lengthy search process but ended up preferring two other DCs — finalists Gannon and Lou Anarumo. Joseph, 50, oversaw DVOA’s 24th-ranked defense in 2022 but had more success in previous seasons. Despite the Cards missing J.J. Watt for much of the season and having issues at cornerback, their 2021 defense ranked sixth in DVOA. In 2020, the metric measured Joseph’s Cards defense as the league’s 10th-best unit. In Denver, Joseph’s 2017 defense — which still featured some troops from the team’s Super Bowl-winning unit — ranked third in yards allowed. Though, the franchise’s quarterback issues that sank Vic Fangio initially keyed Joseph’s Denver ouster. Justin Simmons is the only defender left on the roster who played under Joseph.
Denver’s DC search has gone in a few directions. The most notable names now connected to it are Rex Ryan and Sean Desai, and Mike Zimmer has now been connected to both the Broncos and Cardinals. Ryan may now be the favorite here, despite having not coached since 2016. But Joseph — an ex-Colorado Buffalo — would certainly be an interesting addition to Denver’s mix.
Broncos should have hired Shanahan. He’s one of the best coaches out there and coaching for the same team as his dad would have been a great story. You know you’ve got a good coach when you go through 3 QB’s in a year and don’t skip a beat.
Sean Payton without Drew Brees is Bill Belichick without Tom Brady.
Shanahan certainly would have been a great hire. Apparently he doesn’t exactly light up a room with his people skills, but his work as a coordinator should have spoken for him enough.
I don’t think the Payton part is fair, though. For one thing, he tailored that offense to Brees perfectly, even as Brees lost so much of his arm and mobility. And his work last year was quietly impressive. That team finished with a winning record despite a QB role that went from Jameis Winston to a combination of Siemian, Hill, and Book, only a half season from Armstead, and a WR group comprised of guys who should be third options at best. He even got Winston’s interception rate under 2%, which is amazing.
Rumors at the time were that Kyle was going to get the “band back together” in Denver – largely recreating his dad’s coaching staffs and it freaked Joe Ellis (the Trustee at the time). They were in that period of time when the franchise didn’t answer to an owner and Joe took it upon himself to nix the Shanahan ver 2.0 operation.
Shame it didn’t happen imo.