The Denver Broncos lost on Sunday against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. With the 2025-26 season being over for the Broncos, assistant coaches are now allowed to interview for head coaching and coordinator jobs within the league. For Denver, three key names are swirling around the NFL as potential top candidates for different openings.
There are four head coaching spots yet to be filled, specifically the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Las Vegas Raiders. With these four openings, there are multiple Broncos assistant coaches being mentioned as potential candidates for the jobs.
Broncos could lose assistant coaches following Championship Game loss against the New England Patriots
Starting things off with Davis Webb - the young rising coach has been a hot name for two of the remaining four open head coaching spots, specifically the Buffalo Bills and Las Vegas Raiders. Webb, who is 31 years old, has been the quarterbacks coach in all three years with Sean Payton as the Broncos' head coach. He has gained a lot of respect for helping Sean develop Bo Nix, the franchise guy. Despite being young, there could be a high chance for Davis Webb to get a head coaching job, despite not being an offensive coordinator first, which proves how valuable he is.
Webb spent time with the Buffalo Bills during his playing career, specifically between 2019 and 2021. He knows Josh Allen, and the fit is perfect. Additionally, Tom Brady and the Las Vegas Raiders are interested in Davis as their potential head coach. Las Vegas will likely go young in their new head coach, and Denver's quarterbacks coach could be the guy. The expectation is that Webb gets a new interview with both teams. We will see if he lands a job.
If Davis Webb does not land a head coaching job, there are rumors that he could get an offensive coordinator opportunity, especially in Buffalo.
Now, moving to the defensive side of the ball, coordinator Vance Joseph's name has been mentioned as a potential candidate to be the Arizona Cardinals' new head coach. Vance's unit was top-tier during the 2025-26 season, leading the league in quarterback sacks. He could get another opportunity in the desert to be a head coach again. Las Vegas also interviewed Vance earlier in the process.
Besides Joseph, who is a candidate for the Assistant Coach of the Year Award, there is another name on the defensive side of the ball who could be in the mix for open defensive coordinator jobs, specifically Jim Leonhard. Leonhard, alongside Webb, is another young coach who has gained a lot of respect in this coaching cycle.
He was reportedly a finalist for the Green Bay Packers' defensive coordinator job, and could be a top candidate for teams with an opening at that role. Leonhard has worked with the Broncos' defensive backs and is an assistant head coach to Sean Payton. He should be the number one candidate for Denver to replace Vance Joseph if he ends up leaving.
It will be interesting to see if any of the four teams without a head coach land any of the Broncos' guys. Regardless, all three have gained a lot of respect around the league. If any gets a head coaching job, it better not be the Raiders. If any is hired as a head coach, the Broncos would get two third-round compensatory draft picks.