Behind Vance Joseph’s Denver Broncos comeback story

DENVER – The football was still sailing toward the uprights when Denver Broncos fans erupted, sensing they were witnessing a signature moment in franchise history.

Placekicker Will Lutz’s 39-yard field goal as time expired capped a dizzying turnaround in the Broncos’ 33-32 Week 7 victory over the visiting New York Giants – completing the team’s historic 33-point fourth quarter. The kick ignited celebrations throughout Empower Field at Mile High, sealing the surging team’s stunning rally to victory.

And the thing is, that shocker isn’t even the Broncos’ most inspiring comeback.

The resurgence of Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is a movie-worthy storyline – one that almost seems too improbable to be true. Fired after only two seasons as the franchise’s head coach, Joseph – in a rare NFL twist – returned to lead Denver’s defense under Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean Payton.

Now, in his third season directing the unit, it’s one of the league’s best – a driving force behind the Broncos’ return to prominence under Payton.

As the AFC West-leading Broncos (8-2) prepare to play host to the visiting Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) in Sunday’s divisional showdown, Joseph, 53, is continuing to help Payton restore the Broncos’ luster while reviving his career. In fact, the Broncos don’t even want to think about where they’d be without Joseph at the front of their defense, All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga said.

“The first thing he told me when I came here, ‘Players first – scheme second,’ which is what you want to hear,” the versatile defensive back said. “What that means is that VJ is about putting guys in the best position to succeed, the best position to make plays, not just sticking with one approach because it’s his approach. VJ is about the results.

“The one thing we all understand about him, that you have to expect, is that he’s an aggressive-style coach. That’s not going to change. But he’s flexible on a lot of other things. And when you put your players first and you’re flexible, it doesn’t have to be one way, guys respect that. They want to play for a coach like that.”

A strong coach-player bond also helps during trying times – something the Broncos experienced through most of their eye-popping, come-from-behind classic.

For the game’s first three quarters, the Broncos appeared hapless on both sides of the ball. As the fourth quarter began, the Giants had a 19-0 lead.

Then, suddenly, it all came together for Denver.

Denver produced the most points in NFL history by a team that was shut out through three quarters. Individually, second-year quarterback Bo Nix broke new ground: Nix became the first player ever to both throw for two touchdowns and run for two touchdowns in a fourth quarter. Before Lutz’s game-winning kick ignited the madcap party from the sidelines to the stands, NFL teams leading by 18 points in the final 6 minutes of a game were undefeated: 1,602-0.

Because of the Broncos, the league had to reset several counters.

As the Broncos high-fived, hugged, and shared “atta-boys” on the field and in their locker room, Payton’s top lieutenant on defense took a quiet moment to reflect on the pride he felt in the young men under his charge.

“That was like a dream,” Joseph said, describing the game’s surreal outcome. “To watch these guys grow – from young draft picks, some of ’em free agents and backups – into one of the best units in football, it means a lot. And to see it in them before they could see it in themselves, to see what they’re helping this team accomplish, it’s special.”

Pick a metric – any metric – that measures dominance on defense, and chances are the Broncos rank high on the chart.

With Joseph encouraging players to pursue perfection on each snap, the Broncos’ defensive per game averages are outstanding: They rank third in both points and total yards, sixth against the pass and fourth against the run.

For the Broncos’ opponents, a deeper dive into the numbers reveals even more trouble.

Denver has an NFL-high 46 sacks. The Broncos are on pace to break the single-season sack record of 72 set by the Chicago Bears in 1984.

Talented linebackers Nik Bonitto, who has a team-leading 9.5 sacks, and Jonathan Cooper (7.5 sacks) have enabled Joseph to construct a defense that generates relentless pressure off the edge. The Broncos aren’t bad from the interior, either.

Defensive linemen Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers have six sacks and 4.5 sacks, respectively. On the back end, cornerback Patrick Surtain II – last season’s Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year – provides the perfect chess piece in coverage for Joseph. During an era in which defensive backs seemingly play with one hand tied behind their backs because of rules designed to increase scoring, the son of former All-Pro corner Patrick Surtain is as close as there is in today’s game to a lockdown corner.

Even playing without the injured Surtain, who’s sidelined because of a strained pectoral muscle, Denver’s defense overwhelmed the visiting Las Vegas Raiders in a 10-7 Week 9 victory. It had six sacks, an interception and a turnover on downs. Over seven consecutive possessions, Las Vegas failed to gain a first down.

Nix appreciated the help.

“Right now, it’s the defense leading the charge,” said Nix, who passed for a season-low 150 yards against the Raiders and was picked off twice. “They just continue to get us the ball back. A bunch of sacks tonight. A few [with the Raiders] in field-goal range that knocked them out. You’ll win a lot of games with a defense playing like that.”

If one wants to get Joseph going, however, it’s best to cool it on the statistical talk and steer the conversation from analytics to heart.

When discussing the commitment of the players whom he leads, Joseph swells with pride.

“Cooper and Bonitto. The first year here, I remember telling those guys, every day, ‘You guys are going to be great rushers,’ ” Joseph said. “They couldn’t see it. But I saw it.

“Now, to see how they’re playing together … it’s just awesome. And that’s what coaching is. When you have so many young guys who were just trying to get it figured out, and you see how they grow, there’s no greater feeling as a coach.”

Against the Raiders, the Broncos upheld the high standard Joseph has set for them, Hufanga said.

“He knows exactly how this defense needs to be built to succeed,” said the former San Francisco 49ers standout, who in his first season with the Broncos leads the team in solo tackles.

“We’re built from the front to the back. The front end, those guys understand their job is to create havoc. On the back end, we understand we gotta go cover for a little bit. Just a little bit. We do that, the guys on the front end will get home [get to the quarterback]. It works.”

By relying on consistent pressure up front and disguising coverage in the secondary, Joseph is creating a defensive powerhouse.

It seems Joseph favors man-to-man coverage. Or at least, that’s what he wants opposing quarterbacks to think.

“I don’t call a lot of man. What we do is mostly pressure up front with matchup principles in the back end,” Joseph said. “It’s like playing a box-and-one defense in basketball. It’s zoned inside and match outside. These days, the beauty of playing great defense in this league is the ability to have different structures. If you can get [defensive backs] close [to wide receivers] without giving it that ‘man’ tag, that’s the expertise.

“Because when you call man, the player has to cover both sides of the route. In this league, that’s difficult. Everyone has great receivers. The quarterbacks are so accurate. With what we call, we’re giving the player one side of the route. And we preach leverage. If you win your leverage outside, and the receiver breaks inside, you’re gonna have a teammate there. It can look like man – but it’s not man. That’s the beauty of what we do. That’s the secret.”

This isn’t a secret: Joseph is a top-tier coach.

On Jan. 11, 2017, the Broncos first hired Vance Desmond Joseph. They got a skilled X’s and O’s man, who, to hear many around the league tell it, had been a head coach in waiting from the moment his brief career as an NFL defensive back ended.

Joseph, then 44, joined the Broncos after one season directing the Miami Dolphins’ defense. He was a leader in helping the Dolphins advance to the playoffs for the first time since the 2008 season. Miami became only the 12th team in NFL history to accomplish the feat after losing four of its first five games.

A former college quarterback and running back at the University of Colorado, the Marrero, Louisiana, native was converted to a defensive back in the NFL. After his playing days ended (Joseph appeared in 17 games combined for the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts in the 1995 and ’96 seasons), he steadily developed a reputation as an excellent defensive backs coach. Although he had never served as a coordinator until joining the Dolphins, one of his mentors more than a decade ago predicted Joseph would run his own shop one day.

Joseph worked under NFL-lifer Wade Phillips when they were part of the Houston Texans’ staff from 2011 through 2013. During that time, Phillips – the defensive architect of the Broncos’ victory in Super Bowl 50 – kept giving Joseph more responsibility. Continually, Joseph proved he deserved it.

“V.J. is a friend of mine, but he’s an outstanding coach,” Phillips told Andscape in 2017. “He’s a football guy. He knows football, but he also works with people very well.”

It seemed Joseph was poised to succeed. But sometimes, things just don’t work out.

During Joseph’s two seasons leading the Broncos, they started four quarterbacks – none of whom, to put it kindly, was a franchise passer – and went 11-21. In a league in which having an elite signal-caller is the key to success, good luck winning if you don’t have one.

“I didn’t leave upset,” said Joseph, pausing briefly to consider his words.

Then he corrected himself.

“I did leave upset. But not angry,” he said. “I was just upset because I needed more time. It was turning. The second year, it was. And in the third year, I thought it would have turned.”

From Denver, Joseph moved on to run the Arizona Cardinals’ defense, intent on restoring his reputation. Steadily, Arizona showed improvement. By 2021, it had a top-10 scoring defense.

Meanwhile, the Broncos’ rebuilding efforts hit a wall.

They learned the hard way that replacing Joseph wasn’t as easy as they’d envisioned. In four seasons, the two coaches who followed Joseph never finished at least .500.

The Broncos changed hands in 2022, with the Walton-Penner group purchasing the club for $4.65 billion – a then-record price for a North American sports franchise. With four games remaining during the 2022 season, overmatched head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who was hired by the club’s previous owners, was fired.

For the Broncos’ next head coach, the Walton-Penner group aimed high: They wanted a no-nonsense football CEO who, finally, would put the three-time Super Bowl-winning franchise back on the right track. Only strong leaders and consistent winners need apply.

Sean Payton doesn’t give a damn.

Known as much for his bluntness – his detractors throughout the league call it arrogance – as his offensive genius, Payton isn’t concerned with what others think. And if you’re not helping him win football games, well, file your opinions in his suggestion box.

After 15 seasons leading the New Orleans Saints to their greatest success in franchise history – including a victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV – Payton stepped down in January 2022. With 161 career victories (including the playoffs), nine seasons of at least 10 wins in the regular season and nine playoff appearances, it’s no wonder that even the most football-committed coach would need a break.

Time to recharge.

By 2023, Payton was eager to get back to doing what he does best – winning games in the NFL. The Broncos were just the organization to help him do it.

Any head coach worth one’s salt knows that building a strong staff is a cornerstone of success in the NFL. And being a part of the Bill Parcells’ coaching tree – while with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 through 2005, Payton served under the legendary Hall of Famer – Payton seeks certain traits in his assistants: discipline, attention to detail and, foremost, adaptability.

Joseph, who possessed them all in abundance, was intrigued by Payton’s interest.

“When Sean called me in Arizona, I was like, ‘Man, this is different,’ ” Joseph said. “This really doesn’t happen. But I knew I left the place [Denver] better than I found it, in my opinion. It wasn’t as bad as other people thought.

“So the thought of going back – yeah, it was a challenge. But it was an opportunity to prove that I can get this thing done, especially on the defensive side of the ball, which is my background. And I wasn’t afraid of it.”

For Payton, it didn’t matter that his pursuit of Joseph to fill a vital position on his first Broncos staff would undoubtedly result in raised eyebrows among team observers – especially members of the local media. After all, Joseph wasn’t that far removed from sitting in the same office Payton now occupies. Moreover, Joseph’s tenure, in the minds of many, was bad.

It’s highly uncommon for head coaches to get second acts, even as assistants, with franchises from which they were fired. Phillips, one of Joseph’s mentors, had multiple stints with the Broncos, including one as head coach – and then later returned to help the Broncos win a Super Bowl as their top defensive assistant.

In the 105-year history of the NFL, however, this scenario is rarer than the Cleveland Browns getting it right at quarterback.

Clearly, though, Payton scored on the move.

“His experience, all of those attributes, I lean on those, and we as a team benefit greatly,” Payton said. “The hiring of your staff is tedious. … Making sure you get the right guy is critical. And certainly, with him, I got the right guy.”

Early on, it didn’t seem quite so clear.

After a 70-20 Week 3 drubbing at the hands of the Dolphins in Payton’s first season, many Broncos fans took to social media to blast Joseph. The Dolphins racked up a staggering 726 yards – including 350 rushing yards – and scored 10 touchdowns. Some in the local media had seen enough: Payton, they opined, needed to hire a competent defensive coordinator.

That stinker left nowhere for Joseph to hide. Good thing he’s not the hiding type.

Joseph kept his sleeves rolled up and worked. Payton ignored the plaintive cries to prematurely end Joseph’s comeback tour.

Remember: Payton knows who’s always right.

The Broncos’ accomplished head coach is counting on Joseph and the other assistants to bring it this week against the nine-time defending AFC West champion Chiefs. Kansas City has had a stranglehold on the division for so long, its run began the season before Joseph became Denver’s head coach.

A Broncos victory would be a blow to the visitors’ hopes of finishing atop the division for a 10th consecutive season and would complicate the Chiefs’ path to the playoffs. As usual, Joseph is focused on the task at hand – helping the Broncos go as far as they can this season.

Still, at some point, Joseph hopes to get another opportunity to prove he belongs on the top rung of the coaching ladder.

“There are seasons for everything. Right now, it’s the coaching season,” Joseph said. “After this thing is done, we’ll count our coins and see where we are. If an opportunity presents itself, I would love to have it again. Because of the competitive nature in my heart, after the first time, the way it ended just didn’t sit well with me.

“I thought I was heading down the right way and time ran out. But with that experience, that two-year experience, I learned so much about the job. I’ve been there now. I know what to expect inside the cupboard. My second time around, I would have a better way of attacking those pitfalls that you can only experience inside the job.”

Joseph’s comeback story is far from over, with more chapters yet to be written. But what we’ve been treated to so far is a real page-turner.

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