The Denver Broncos have largely been able to keep the coaching staff together in the Sean Payton era, which is a great, but also surprising thing. Last offseason, many in Broncos Country were worried that the team would lose both Vance Joseph and Davis Webb to head coaching jobs.
The team actually 'only' lost Jim Leonhard, as he's now with the Buffalo Bills as their defensive coordinator. Webb returned with a promotion to offensive coordinator, while also securing play-calling duties.
Joseph, after yet another dominant defensive season, is back with the team. While this does set the Broncos up nicely for 2026, it also paints a picture that fans might dread when 2026 is over.
Denver Broncos could end up with two legitimate head coaching candidates after 2026
In PFF, Bradley Locker listed 15 head coaching candidates entering the 2026 season, and both Vance Joseph and Davis Webb appeared on the list:
"Considering what the Broncos have accomplished in recent seasons — especially on defense — it’s pretty remarkable that Joseph is still the team’s defensive coordinator.
Since Joseph returned to Denver in 2023, the Broncos have undoubtedly been one of the league’s foremost defenses.
Watching Joseph’s defenses reveals a fundamentally sound and well-coached team on that side of the ball. Joseph has maximized the talent of unsuspecting players like Ja’Quan McMillian, Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Alex Singleton and many more, offering an incredibly deep stable of defensive linemen with capable coverage players. Over the last two seasons, the Broncos have surrendered just 257 explosive plays, the third-fewest in the NFL.
Joseph’s 11-21 tenure as Broncos head coach may linger in executives’ minds. But whether in Arizona or Denver, almost all he’s done since is punch above his weight as a defensive coach. That should merit another head-coaching try...
Webb’s name has continued to populate around head-coaching openings in recent years. This coming offseason is when it could finally come to fruition.
The former quarterback has worked as Sean Payton’s right-hand man over the last three seasons, absorbing knowledge from one of the sport’s most respected visionaries. While Denver’s offense has been fairly mediocre in that span — placing 19th in EPA per play and 20th in success rate — Webb has been instrumental in developing Bo Nix, who’s produced two 77.1-plus-graded campaigns. He also occupied the same room as Josh Allen in Buffalo as his backup from 2019-21.
This offseason, Webb received the play-calling reins from Payton in an effort to lure him back to Denver — and away from division rival Las Vegas. With the Broncos keeping the league’s highest-graded offensive line intact and adding Waddle, the 31-year-old may see his star grow further."
This list from PFF also only featured 15 names, and when you consider how many head coaching candidates end up interviewing in a given cycle, it's a bit horrifying that the Broncos have two of their top coaches listed here. Obviously, teams will lose coaches to promotions on occasion, and it's not the end of the world.
Both Joseph and Webb are both likely going to be very deserving of a promotion to a head coaching spot, but in the even that Denver loses both coordinators, both sides of the ball would then likely be in a period of unknown and instability.
The one thing that really helps the Broncos out is the familiarity among the coaching staff. Joseph is now back for his fourth year as the Broncos defensive coordinator, and many key players have been with the Broncos for that period of time.
Having this type of chemistry in the NFL is certainly not hurting the team. The same goes for Webb, who has been on the staff since 2023. As quickly as Denver is fielding an elite coaching staff with, potentially, two top-tier coordinators in 2026, that can be ripped out from under them.
In a perfect world, unless one side of the ball sees a notable regression in 2026, Joseph and Webb remain with the Broncos as long as possible. Payton isn't going to stop them from a head coaching job (and he also can't).
If this is the last year with both Joseph and Webb, the Broncos simply have to make it count.
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