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Denver Broncos gearing up for a very unlikely reunion?

By Sayre Bedinger

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 29: Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph of the Arizona Cardinals gets a hug from Defensive end Derek Wolfe #95 of the Denver Broncos after a preseason game at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on August 29, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 29: Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph of the Arizona Cardinals gets a hug from Defensive end Derek Wolfe #95 of the Denver Broncos after a preseason game at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on August 29, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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It’s important if you’re a coach in the NFL to not burn bridges. You just never know when you might cross back to the other side. For the Denver Broncos and Vance Joseph, a reunion would have seemed borderline impossible just a handful of weeks ago. Joseph was considered a possible replacement for Kliff Kingsbury in Arizona after serving as their defensive coordinator, but certainly nobody thought he could become a defensive coordinator option for Sean Payton and the Broncos.

And yet, here we are.

Vance Joseph a finalist for Denver Broncos DC job

Vance Joseph was fired by the Broncos after the 2018 season, just his second as head coach of the team after being hired in 2017. Joseph was handed a pretty raw deal by the Broncos in 2017 as they were still attempting to see if Paxton Lynch could be an NFL quarterback. We’ve all seen how that story turned out. The 2017 season was basically wasted on the Broncos experimenting with Lynch and Joseph understanding that his best option was (checks notes) Trevor Siemian.

In 2018, John Elway went out and got Case Keenum for Joseph to work with at the quarterback position, and that went predictably as well.

This is not to say that Vance Joseph was flawless as an NFL head coach, but his two seasons in Denver were defined by horrendous quarterback play and he undoubtedly understands that as well as anyone. Even national media guys went to bat for him…

It was an ugly couple of years for the Denver Broncos regarding the QB position, but it doesn’t appear as though Vance Joseph is holding that against them. Perhaps he’s using the Denver Broncos as leverage for other opportunities, or perhaps he has genuine interest in returning. Either way, the guy took an interview with Sean Payton and is still seriously considering taking the job.

Joseph also appears to be a strong option for the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, and that job looks pretty nice on paper considering the fact that the Eagles were so good last year, but there could also be a lot of pieces moving in that unit with a lot of notable free agents.

But Joseph knows well enough that team success could lead to him being back in a head coach’s chair sooner rather than later.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton appears to be targeting a “head coach of the defense” for his defensive coordinator position. As in, all of the reported “finalists” for the Broncos DC job right now are former head coaches (Joseph, Rex Ryan, Matt Patricia). It’s a pretty bizarre list of defensive coordinator options, to be sure, but Sean Payton also really wanted Vic Fangio to come with him and it sounds like Fangio seriously considered coming back to Denver just about a year after being fired there.

Will Vance Joseph really reunite with the Denver Broncos? It would be one of the crazier stories of the offseason, to be sure. But then again, when you don’t burn bridges on your way out, you never know what might happen.

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