Broncos fire coach Vance Joseph after back-to-back losing seasons

The tumultuous tenure of Vance Joseph as the Denver Broncos head coach has come to an end.

First reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the Broncos will move on from their head coach following the team’s season finale loss at home against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

“I spoke with Vance this morning and thanked him for all of his hard work as our head coach. Although we decided to make this change, I believe Vance is a good football coach who has a bright future in this league,” said Broncos general manager John Elway via a press release.

“Vance made a lot of strides and deserves credit for how hard and competitively the team played this season. There’s always going to be a high standard here. The bottom line is we need to win more football games. We’re excited about the foundation that’s being built and look forward to putting in the work to get the Broncos back on the winning track.”

Joseph’s dismissal comes on the heels of a Christmas Eve loss to Denver’s long-time rival, the Oakland Raiders, which assured the Broncos of back-to-back losing season for the first time since 1972.

The loss also meant the club could no longer tout that it had been to more Super Bowls (7) than losing seasons (7) since Pat Bowlen took over ownership of the team in 1983.

During his two seasons at the Broncos helm, Joseph has amassed an 11-21 record, including a 4-8 mark against AFC West opponents and just four wins on the road.

With the loss, Denver’s winning percentage during the past two seasons is .344, which marks the second-worst two-year stretch for the franchise since the NFL merger in 1970. By winning percentage, only the 1971 and 1972 seasons (.339) ranked lower.

Joseph’s dismissal comes one year to the day after Broncos general manager John Elway reportedly had to “sleep on it” regarding whether he’d fire the head coach after just one season.

That year, the Broncos earned a 5-11 record, in part due to an eight-game losing streak in the middle of the season — the longest skid for the franchise in 50 years — that saw the usage of three different starting quarterbacks.

Elway did retain Joseph for another season while bringing in Case Keenum to solidify the Broncos quarterback situation.

Denver got off to a quick start again in 2018, winning its first two games against the Seattle Seahawks and the Raiders. However, from there, the Broncos would lose four in a row and six of their next seven heading into a Week 10 bye.

The Broncos showed signs of life in the weeks following the mid-season break, rattling off three straight wins to pull to 6-6 and sparking the team’s postseason aspirations.

But back-to-back losses on the road against the San Francisco 49ers and at home against the Cleveland Browns assured Denver of a third consecutive season without a playoff berth.

With Joseph’s departure, the Broncos will be looking for its four head coach since the team and head coach John Fox mutually parted ways after the 2014 season.

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Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.