Could Denver Broncos lose Vance Joseph to head coach vacancy next offseason?

Is there now a distinct possibility that the Denver Broncos could lose defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to a head coaching vacancy this coming cycle? As of now, with the recent firing of Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas, there is already one head coaching vacancy that will be filled in 2024. Well, the Denver Broncos have their guy in Sean Payton, and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi certainly isn't going anywhere, but could the Broncos have to brace losing Vance Joseph?

Just a few weeks ago, many in Broncos Country were calling for Joseph to be fired, as the team's defense was among the worst in the history of the NFL through one month. Well, over the last month, this unit has played excellent football. They have allowed just 19 points per game over the past four games and have allowed just four offensive touchdowns.

They held Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to just one offensive touchdown in their two games this year. They also allowed just one offensive touchdown to the New York Jets a couple of weeks ago. Right now, the defense is trending up, and the Broncos have their bye week to clean up what needs fixing.

At this point, should we now be a bit worried that the team could lose VJ to a head coaching job? You see, in the NFL, coaches commonly get second chances at being a head coach. It's happened perhaps hundreds of times. It's actually very common for head coaches who get a second stint to do better in that second go-around.

Joseph was the Broncos head coach in 2017 and 2018, and amassed a lousy 11-21 record. He was fired after 2018 and proceeded to spend the 2019-2022 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals as their DC. He's now back in Denver for his fifth straight season as DC. Joseph is a very logical candidate for teams with HC openings to interview. He's got HC experience before, and if the Broncos defense continues to play well, teams will surely target Joseph for an interview, at least.

Losing Vance Joseph won't be the end of the world, but if the defense keeps playing the way that it has, it'll certainly be a tough blow that Sean Payton would have to work around. There will surely be hot defensive coordinator names on the market in 2024, but I think the Broncos would benefit more from Joseph staying in Denver if the unit is playing similar football near the end of the season as they are now.