Meanwhile, a number of teams that didn’t make the playoffs are expected to have head coaching vacancies, and interviews have already started for some organizations.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton recently said he believes one of his assistant coaches will get another chance to lead an NFL team himself.
“I think that Vance [Joseph] is going to be a head coach again,” Payton said of his current defensive coordinator, via Zac Stevens of DNVR Sports.
Joseph was the Broncos’ head coach during the 2017 and 2018 seasons when they were early in their rebuilding process following the retirement of quarterback Peyton Manning.
After Joseph was fired with an 11-21 record, he was the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator for four seasons before returning to Denver to work on Payton’s staff.
While rookie quarterback Bo Nix has shown plenty of promise, especially as the season went on, Denver became a playoff team largely thanks to its defense.
The Broncos finished the regular season third in points allowed with pass rushers Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper improving their production.
Denver will face a tough task in the wild-card round when it visits the Buffalo Bills, who finished 13-4 and are being picked by some to reach the Super Bowl and perhaps win it all.
