The Denver Broncos have turned their franchise around in the past couple of seasons, and after a breakout season in 2024, many now-former coaches and front office members got poached for promotions on new teams.
Fortunately, Denver was able to keep key assistants like Vance Joseph and Davis Webb, but with the amount of success this team has had this year, that might not be the case this coming offseason. Joseph's name has been floated all over the place as a viable head coach candidate.
And there are going to be more head coaching openings as the 2025 season winds down, but while the current job he'd be perfect for isn't yet open, it just might be, and there might not be a better fit for Joseph to land his second head coaching job in the NFL.
If the Bengals fire Zac Taylor, Vance Joseph would make a ton of sense as his replacement
The Bengals are obviously still employing Zac Taylor as the head coach, but Taylor has never really separated himself as a top-tier head coach in this league. There always seems to be a bit of meat left on the bone, and Cincy is set to miss the playoffs for the third year in a row unless something changes.
Taylor is a sharp offensive mind, but it's actually been the defense this team has not been able to get right in the past two seasons, and this is the primary reason why Vance Joseph would make a lot of sense for the Bengals if they were to move on from Taylor.
With Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins all being in the picture for Cincy, the offense is, to an extent, taken care of. Joseph wouldn't have to worry about that unit a ton. Sure, the offensive line could use some help, but that is something most NFL front office can figure out.
Cincy fielding a top-12 defense, for example, would thrust them into Super Bowl contention in 2026, and Joseph is regarded as one of the top defensive minds in the NFL. He was also the defensive backs coach for this team in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, so he does have familiarity with the franchise.
If Cincy wants to get serious about not wasting anymore time of the Joe Burrow era, they should consider hiring Vance Joseph, as the fit makes a lot of sense for both sides.