The Broncos are making a local hire to replace Jim Leonhard, their former pass game coordinator who now serves as the Bills’ defensive coordinator. University of Colorado DC Robert Livingston is set to take Leonhard’s position on Sean Payton‘s staff in Denver, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Livingston, 40, spent the last two years running the Buffaloes’ defense under Deion Sanders. The unit allowed 34.8 points per game in 2023, which ranked 124th out of 133 FBS teams. In Livingston’s first season, they improved to 46th, surrendering 23.1 points per game. , allowed the 10th-most points per game. Colorado regressed in 2025, ranking 112th with 30.5 points allowed per game. They did, however, rank 11th in opposing completion rate (55.4%), a positive sign for his new role overseeing the Broncos’ pass defense.
In Denver, Livingston will reunite with defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. The two overlapped in Cincinnati in 2014 and 2015 while Joseph was the Bengals’ defensive backs coach. Livingston was a scout focusing on defensive backs from 2012 to 2014 and a defensive quality control in 2015. Joseph left during the 2016 offseason, but Livingston was promoted to safeties coach that role until 2023, when he was hired by Sanders.
Before reaching the NFL, Livingston served as the safeties coach at Furman in 2010 and a defensive quality control coach at Vanderbilt in 2011. He will now take on a role overseeing a Broncos’ pass defense that ranked among the league’s best in 2025.