BRONCOS

Broncos announce remainder of Sean Payton’s first coaching staff

Mar 25, 2023, 3:08 PM

Sean Payton’s staff is not universally filled with coaches that he knows from previous stops. But one of the headliners of the hires announced Saturday is the coach who filled in for him during most of the 2012 season in which he served a league suspension.

That coach is Joe Vitt, whose resume also includes a stint as the Rams’ interim head coach in 2006. Vitt, who coached in New Orleans for 11 seasons (2006-16), will be the senior defensive assistant on Payton’s first staff.

Vitt has a connection to a well-known ex-Broncos coach. He is the father-in-law of Adam Gase, who worked on the Broncos staff in various offensive capacities from 2009-14. Gase, of course, was the play-caller and offensive coordinator in 2013, when the Denver offense set scores of records en route to an AFC championship.

Some of the coaches have been known for some time. Word of the hires of running backs coach Lou Ayeni and quarterbacks coach Davis Webb broke around the Scouting Combine. And we learned of the hiring of offensive quality-control coach Logan Kilgore in January. Kilgore was the head coach at Isidore Newman H.S. in New Orleans, the school that Peyton, Eli, Cooper and heralded Texas recruit Arch Manning attended.

The rest of the hires include:

Assistant offensive line coach Austin King: He held the same position with the Chicago Bears last year and also served on the Raiders’ staff the previous two seasons.

Offensive-quality control coach Fabian Upshaw: He served as an offensive analyst for the high-powered Tulane Green Wave last season. He coached running backs at Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt Conference one year earlier.

Pass-rush specialist Jamar Cain: He spent the 2022 season on LSU’s staff as its defensive-line coach and defensive run-game coordinator. But before that, he worked two seasons coaching defensive ends and outside linebackers at Oklahoma, where one of his pupils was 2022 Broncos second-round pick Nik Bonitto.

Defensive quality-control coach Addison Lynch: He hops aboard Payton’s staff after working in the same role with the Detroit Lions, coached by former Payton assistant Dan Campbell. Lynch also worked for the Raiders in 2021 and the Chargers for three seasons before that.

Defensive quality-control coach Isaac Shewmaker: He joined the Broncos in the same role he handled for the Los Angeles Chargers the last two seasons. Shewmaker’s CV also includes a four-year stint (2016-19) at Alabama under Nick Saban.

Assistant strength-and-conditioning coach Shaun Snee: He comes to the Broncos after eight years with the Wisconsin Badgers, including he last two as their director of strength and conditioning.

Offensive quality-control coach Zach Grossi also returns to the staff in the same position he held last year. He is the lone holdover on the offensive staff.

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