ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It happens every year. A particular offensive or defensive unit takes the NFL by storm, or surprise, or both, and the coordinator of that unit gets mentioned as next year’s head coach candidate.
Vance Joseph has been a head coach before, as Broncos Country well knows. But after serving two years in 2017-18 here, he went back to becoming a defensive coordinator, first with the Arizona Cardinals and now with the Broncos.
And while much of the league is gone to the Vic Fangio, two-deep, keep the ball in front style, Joseph has gone the other way with a more aggressive, one deep, blitz from anyone-and-anywhere that is not only fun to watch, but effective. The Broncos rank No. 3 in both total defense and scoring defense through seven games with a home game this Sunday against the 1-6 Carolina Panthers, who are No. 29 in total offense and No. 28 in scoring.
Not surprisingly, Joseph is getting midseason buzz as a strong head coaching candidate for the 2025 season.
“I don’t have a thought about it right now because, thank God this league has seasons,’’ Joseph said. “You have an offseason, you have a draft season, and right now it’s playing in-season. So for me my entire focus is this football game. And winning games and coaching right now. That stuff takes care of itself down the road. For me that stuff doesn’t have a place for me. I’m so busy right now, my mind’s on this team, a young defense that’s playing good football. Keep improving each week to get ahead of the adversity before it strikes. That’s my focus.”
It runs in cycles but with so many first-time head coaches struggling, the league may turn to second-time coaches who have experienced the pressure of the head job. Second-time head coaches like Dan Quinn and Raheem Morris are bringing a greater sense of stability and maturity to their teams while rookie head coaches like Dave Canales, Jerod Mayo and Brian Callahan are going through rough starts for the first time.
Andy Reid, Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton are second-time head coaches.
While Denver’s defense flies around and brings chaos to opposing offenses, Joseph has called the plays from the sidelines in a calm, stoic manner.
“Being mentioned, it’s cool,’’ Joseph said of his potential head coach candidacy. “But right now my mind’s not there.”
Bo and Nix
The Broncos have won four of their last five games with a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix who has been sacked just 5 times in that stretch while throwing just one interception against 5 touchdown passes.
Yet there has also been critique of Nix for the open receivers he has missed downfield with football experts pointing out footwork flaws.
“Every play has a rhythm to it,’’ said offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. “You start running all these plays on air, where there’s no defense (in practice). You groove your footwork into (the game action) and then your receiver gets jammed and you have to hang a little bit. There’s just experience that comes with that, having your feet set.
“One of the challenges, we talked earlier that he avoids sacks. So just grooving in footwork with the ability to escape and not be stuck in the pocket if something breaks down. Those are all works in progress but I think with experience it will get better.”
Field position aids Broncos
For special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica, starting field position is a telling statistic. And Kotwica’s units have been outstanding this year as the Broncos rank No. 1 in average defensive starting field position (26.8 yard line) and No. 3 in offensive starting field position (33.5 yard line).
“Anytime you can play complementary football – we hear that term a lot – and to your point what that means,’’ Kotwica said. “That means setting up field position for your defense, for your offense, and we’ve had a very, very good start.
“I think there’s still some, for lack of a better term, meat on the bone that we can build upon. Still waiting for a couple of those big plays but that starting field position is something that we talk about, it’s something that coach (Payton) emphasis, and it’s good to see that come to fruition.”
