The Denver Broncos have started the 2023 season 0-2 and things seem to have flip-flopped from recent years. For what seemed like an eternity, the Broncos could not score points but consistently had one of the league's better defenses. This season, they are putting points on the board but the defense has looked rough.
This offseason, new head coach Sean Payton pegged former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph as his defensive coordinator. Just two weeks into the season, that move is being highly criticized.
That was always going to be the case if the team struggled as many Broncos fans still have a sour taste in their mouths from Joseph's tenure as the team's head coach. Many of his recent critics point to the fact that Ejiro Evero, now with the Carolina Panthers, had most of the same players Joseph has and their respective units look nothing alike.
But if you remember back to the time when the Broncos were mulling over their decision for the team's new defensive coordinator, one very prominent name was connected to the Broncos.
That would be that of Rex Ryan.
Ryan was easy to dislike during his days as a head coach, but it's hard to debate against him being one of the best defensive minds of this generation. His defensive units were alwasy stout and among the best in the league.
Currently, Ryan works for ESPN, so he has a platform to say some things. This week, he did just that, making this statement when addressing the Broncos' defense:
Rex Ryan, who interviewed for the Broncos defensive coordinator job had some strong criticisms about the current state of their defensepic.twitter.com/QF0ekwG1QR
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) September 19, 2023
Ryan exclaimed that this "was going to be the best defense in the league if I was the coordinator". While that may seem brash and unrealistic to some, it would almost certainly be better than what we are seeing with Joseph calling the shots.
When Ryan's name came up in connection to the Broncos this offseason, most fans inside Broncos Country seemed to be in favor of the move. Ryan can be a bit egotistical, but let's be honest, Payton can be too. Ryan would bring a no-nonsense, in-your-face style that we will never see as long as Joseph is around.
The decision to bring Joseph back will likely be buried on a regular basis for months, but it makes it even worse when you factor in that Ryan was one of the guys he got the job over.