There has been a lot of talk during the 2026 offseason about Denver Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, and rightfully so.
Webb is only 31 years old, but even in his early 30s, he's getting looks from a lot of NFL teams as a possible head coach. Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was the first to give Webb a job in the coaching world back in 2023 when Webb traded in his shoulderpads for a headset, and Payton has told a story about calling Webb after his interview and telling him to drive back to the facility to seal the deal.
The Broncos didn't want Webb getting out of the building back then, and they apparently don't want it to happen now, either. With Webb seemingly a finalist for the Las Vegas Raiders job, Sean Payton made a rather shocking move to fire offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. The tea leaves of that move immediately led every fan to the conclusion that Davis Webb was getting a well-deserved promotion to offensive coordinator, and 9News Broncos insider Mike Klis quietly hinted that is expected to be the case.
Broncos expected to promote Davis Webb to offensive coordinator for 2026
"Broncos' quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, who has drawn interest from several teams this offseason as both a head coach and offensive coordinator candidate, is expected to stay put and become Payton's new offensive coordinator, according to multiple sources."
- Broncos insider Mike Klis (via 9News)
That seems pretty clear right there. And absent an official announcement from the team, or a news drop from Adam Schefter or Ian Rapoport, that is about as close to a done deal as you're going to get.
And while this move is undoubtedly a bombshell being dropped as a nugget at the end of a post regarding Jim Leonhard leaving for the Buffalo Bills' defensive coordinator job, the even bigger news is the follow-up question everyone will have:
Will Davis Webb be calling the plays offensively?
If the Las Vegas Raiders' job was being offered to Webb, the only recruiting chip the Broncos would have (other than matching the finances) is the promotion they can offer. What responsibilities will that promotion come with? Will Sean Payton do something he's literally never done before and delegate play-calling duties to someone whose only experience calling plays was a preseason game last year?
Payton made a comment earlier in January about not driving in the rain at night regarding his play-calling and decision-making during games. What Payton was intimating when he said all of that was that he's not able to operate the same now as he was when he was in his 30s. That doesn't mean that he said he was going to give up play-calling at the first opportunity to do so. Nobody is insinuating that, but there are some breadcrumbs to follow here.
Would the Broncos have been able to lure Davis Webb away from a head coaching gig absent play-calling duties? That's a fair question to ask at this point. And maybe they would. Would the Broncos have been able to lure Webb away from head coaching opportunities or other offensive coordinator opportunities absent play-calling duties?
There was a report recently from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that snuck through the cracks a little bit. He said the Broncos had attempted to lure Joe Brady as their offensive coordinator earlier this offseason, with the idea that Brady would potentially call the plays. Not a guarantee, but it's the first time we've seen any indicator that Sean Payton is remotely willing to delegate that to someone else.
And time will tell, but while everyone awaits the formality of Webb being named the team's offensive coordinator, the follow-up will be equally fascinating.