Logan Kilgore was promoted to quarterbacks coach.

DENVER — Sean Payton made it official on Monday by announcing the promotion of Davis Webb from Broncos’ quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator.

9NEWS had been reporting that move was coming from the time Joe Lombardi was fired last week after three seasons as Payton’s offensive coordinator and Webb withdrew as a candidate to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach.

The question is whether Payton will give Webb play-calling responsibilities. 

Payton has always called the offensive plays during his 18 years as head coach of the New Orleans Saints and Broncos. Still, Payton provided a hint he was being self-critical of his play-calling duties during a press conference on Jan. 15 prior to the Broncos’ 33-30 overtime win against Buffalo in a second-round Divisional playoff game.

“The thing that I have to continue that changes as you get older is you still have to be quick,” said Payton, who’s 62. “Play just ran, next play. I said this: When I was younger, we’d run a reverse on the 8-yard line, and I think nothing of it. As you get older, you think about all the ramifications. 

“So I have to also remove that. It was said as you get older, maybe you don’t drive in the rain at night. You begin to… I can’t let that happen as a play caller. That’s something that I have to mentally make sure it’s quick.”

Webb, who’s 31, has never called plays, but he is often credited with the impressive development of Bo Nix through his work as a quarterbacks coach. An NFL backup quarterback for seven years, Webb went directly from the sidelines with a clipboard to Payton’s coaching staff and sidelines with an iPad in 2023.

Payton did let Webb call plays in the Broncos’ 27-7 preseason win against Arizona back in August. In that game, Broncos’ backup quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger combined for 402 yards passing and the running backs combined for 167 yards rushing. So Webb showed promise.

So much so that Webb drew serious interest as a candidate for several head coach and offensive coordinator openings around the league during the recent coaching hiring cycle. Did Payton offer play-calling duties as enticement for Webb to stay? As of now, the answer is to be determined.

Payton also interviewed Ronald Curry and Brian Johnson for his offensive coordinator position before deciding to promote Webb.

Kilgore, 35, steps up to replace Webb as quarterbacks coach. Kilgore was a three-year starting quarterback for Middle Tennessee State from 2011-13. He spent the past three seasons as an offensive quality control coach so quarterbacks coach is a significant promotion.