When the Broncos and Sean Payton sacked Joe Lombardi, they weren’t done.
Two position coaches were also let go by the team Tuesday: wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch.
“I want to thank these coaches for playing an important role in elevating our program over the last three seasons,” Payton said in a statement issued by the club. “I’ve been fortunate to work with Joe Lombardi for 15 years and am particularly grateful for his many contributions to our success as offensive coordinator.
“We sincerely appreciate Joe, Keary and Addison’s hard work and wish them all the best in the future.”
ALL THREE COACHES JOINED THE BRONCOS IN 2023
Colbert, Lombardi and Lynch were a part of Payton’s initial Broncos staff in 2023. Colbert and Lombardi held their roles for the last three seasons, while Lynch was a defensive assistant who moved up to cornerbacks coach in 2025.
For Colbert, one circumstance that may have played a role in his dismissal was the prevalance of drops by Broncos wide receivers. This year, Broncos wide receivers averaged one drop every 12.7 catchable passes; the league average for wide receivers is one drop every 14.4 catchable passes.
Tuesday morning at his press conference, Payton pointed to one specific aspect of his receivers’ pass-catching technique — the position of their thumbs — when discussing the drop issues.
“We’ve got speed, we’ve got size, we’ve got all the things I’m used to, [that] you’d want to have in a good offense,” Payton said. “But I think that there’s a proper way to catch a football and most of the times it’s with your thumbs together. Not the other way around. And the other way around — I’m serious — only exists when the ball is below your belly button. Even the deep balls should be caught with your thumbs together. So we gotta be better at that.”
It’ll be on another coach to make that happen.
Lynch guided a cornerback room that included Pat Surtain II, who was a second-team All-Pro in 2025 after earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2024.
