It was a great season for the Denver Broncos. They reached the AFC Championship, where they lost by three points to the New England Patriots. Their playoff run may have gone further if not for the injury to Bo Nix late in the Divisional Round, leading fans to wonder how far could they have gone if he were healthy.
Nevertheless, the Broncos came up short in their Super Bowl aspirations. Due to Denver’s unexpected success, many teams wanted a piece of their winning formula. Thus, it did not take long for Denver coaches to become top options for coaching vacancies.
The Buffalo Bills poached assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard as their new defensive coordinator. Senior offensive assistant and longtime Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. also joined Buffalo to be its new offensive coordinator.
Many Denver fans feared that those moves were just the beginning and that a coaching downgrade was inevitable. But now that the dust has settled, the Broncos have escaped the coaching carousel with a formidable coordinator duo.
Quarterback Success
Much of Denver’s success this season came from the impressive steps taken by Nix in his sophomore year. Though the stats may not show it, Nix always came through in big moments. Nix’s late-game heroics played a huge role in their tremendous season, leading the Broncos to an NFL-record 12 comeback victories (h/t @KelbermanNFL). That wouldn’t have been possible without quarterback coach and passing game coordinator Davis Webb.
Webb spent six years in the NFL playing quarterback, bouncing around the league as a career backup. After retirement, he went into coaching, and landed the Broncos’ quarterback coach job in 2023. His first season in Denver was a bumpy one, as quarterback Russell Wilson mightily struggled. However, when the Broncos drafted Nix the following season, it only improved from there.
Many doubted Nix entering the league. Head coach Sean Payton announced him as the starter for his entire rookie season, and he got off to a slow start. However, under Webb’s tutelage, Nix has developed into one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. With just two years under his belt, his trajectory is headed upwards.
Passing Game Improvements
While Nix receives most of the credit for the passing attack, Webb’s promotion to passing game coordinator made an impact on the entire offensive attack. No receivers recorded over 800 yards in Webb’s first season in Denver, but that changed under his watch.
Courtland Sutton went on to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2024 and 2025. This past season, second-year wideout Troy Franklin finished with over 700 receiving yards, nearly tripling his production from 2024. What’s more, fellow pass catchers Evan Engram, Pat Bryant, RJ Harvey, and Marvin Mims all eclipsed 300 yards. Webb quickly turned around Denver’s receiving game, increasing production and developing younger players who should continue to improve.
So, after all that, surely he will land a head coaching job. Or at least leave for an offensive coordinator role. Right?
Davis Webb Stays
Despite the interest in their coaches that many teams had, the Broncos had one factor that helped them out greatly: their playoff run. Teams were beginning to hire coaches while the playoffs were still going on, which worked very well for Denver. NFL teams cannot hire coaches who are still participating in the season. So, by the time the Broncos were eliminated, very few coaching jobs remained.
Nevertheless, rumors began to swirl about Webb going to Las Vegas to become the Raiders’ new head coach. However, clearly, Payton was not keen on letting that happen. So, Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi to make room for a potential promotion for Webb. Payton even entertained the idea of giving up play-calling duties.
Not long after, Webb withdrew from the Raiders coaching search and took the job as Denver’s new offensive coordinator. Webb knows the coaches, the system, and the offense. Keeping him will prove important for the Broncos, as the trio of Webb, Nix, and Payton could run the NFL for years to come. After coming up short last year, a Super Bowl appearance feels almost inevitable for the squad. So long as the defense continues to produce, that is. Which, given recent news, they likely will.
Incredible Defense
For the last two seasons, Denver’s defense has been incredible. It has ranked as a top-three scoring defense for each of the past two seasons. In that span, it also finished first in sacks both years. Much of the unit’s success can be attributed to their many defensive playmakers. Cornerback Patrick Surtain and pass rushers Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen spring to mind. However, the real power of their defense has come from defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
Joseph was the Broncos’ head coach from 2017-2018, getting fired after a disastrous pair of seasons. From there, he spent four seasons at Arizona as their defensive coordinator, achieving much better results. So, when Payton came to the Broncos in 2023, he brought Joseph aboard.
The beginning of Joseph’s second stint with Denver was rocky. His defense infamously allowed 70 points to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3. Many called for him to be fired right away. But, from there, the defense took off. Even in that underwhelming 2023 season, Joseph’s unit showed what they could do. The Broncos went on a five-game win streak, taking down Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and a red-hot Josh Dobbs for those who remember.
In those five games, Denver’s defense forced 16 turnovers. And as previously mentioned, in the following two years, it was only uphill from there.
Joseph Returns
Given that Webb was not yet a coordinator, Joseph was receiving more head coach interest. Five teams interviewed Joseph, with the Arizona Cardinals expressing significant interest. However, just like Webb, many teams were unwilling to wait, so few jobs remained by the time Denver was eliminated from the postseason. The Cardinals opted for Mike LaFleur and the Raiders chose Klint Kubiak, leaving Joseph in Denver.
Over the past week, Vance Joseph has been telling people inside the Broncos’ building he was going to return to be Denver’s DC for the 2026 season, multiple sources tell me.
That all becomes official with all of the head coach positions around the league being filled. pic.twitter.com/oqutKwYlXi
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) February 1, 2026
Though he may have wanted that head coaching gig, this may be his best option. He showed in years past in Denver that being a head coach may not exactly be in his wheelhouse. But he clearly excels at being a defensive coordinator. The Broncos have arguably the best defense in football. They just made it to the conference championship. Everything is trending upwards.
With Joseph and Webb returning to Denver, the sky is the limit. Everyone already knows what Joseph’s defense can do. But, as good as Denver was, many still criticize their offense. So there are still plenty of improvements that fans look forward to watching Webb make. Denver did come up short, but they’re a team on the rise. Now that they’ve kept their coaches, they can focus on the new season. And they won’t let that Lombardi trophy slip away this time.