Denver Broncos head man Sean Payton is putting the finishing touches on his coaching staff for the 2026 season, hiring Drake University offensive coordinator Kyle Kempt as an offensive assistant, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported Monday.
The hire has yet to be officially announced by the team.
A former quarterback at Iowa State (where he later worked under HC Matt Campbell), Kempt, 31, began his coaching career with the Cyclones, beginning in 2019 as an offensive quality control assistant before graduating to pass-game work in 2024.
He was then tapped as Drake’s coordinator/quarterbacks coach ahead of the 2025 campaign.
“In his six seasons, the Cyclones produced four of the most prolific offenses in the history of Cyclone football while appearing in five bowl games and two Big 12 Championship games,” reads Kempt’s university bio. “Iowa State broke the school record for total offense (444.3) and had the third-best scoring offense (32.2) in school history in 2019 and followed it up with the second-best scoring offense (32.9) and third-best total offense (436.3) totals in Cyclone history in 2020. During Kempt’s time on staff, Iowa State posted a 45-32 record and recorded five of the school’s eight winning league seasons in the 29-year history of the Big 12 Conference.”
In his lone stint with the Bulldogs, Kempt’s offense produced 363.0 total yards per game, 197.9 of which came on the ground with leading rusher Nick Herman averaging 7.2 yards per carry en route to 1,034 yards and six touchdowns.
Denver’s Staff Coming Together