Sean Payton keeps Vance Joseph as DC after historic Broncos loss
Sep 25, 2023, 10:46 AM
The Miami Dolphins scored more touchdowns in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos than every NFL team has the whole season thus far, but in the Mile High City changes will not come—at least, yet.
The historic blowout 70-20 loss nearly saw Denver’s defense set the record for points and yards allowed as Fins slashed the Broncos to an 0-3 start. This has pushed many to call for Vance Joseph’s firing after Denver’s defense has gone from one of the best despite having nothing to play for at season’s end to clearly the worst in the league through three weeks.
Joseph and the rest of the Broncos staff will keep their gigs, according to Sean Payton who spoke to the media via Zoom on Monday.
“No,” Payton said about firings to start the week. “And that wouldn’t be something I’d share on a conference call.”
Joseph is in his first season leading Denver’s defense after coordinating Arizona’s unit to the second-most points allowed in the league last season. Of course, Joseph only took that job with the Cardinals after being fired by the Broncos for a poor stint as head coach.
“We’ve gotta get these things cleaned up,” Payton hinted at the issue of defense given he later praised the special teams play even in a 50-point loss. “Look, we played a good offense, but we didn’t help ourselves in any way, shape or form.”
Payton, a coach Denver sent a first and a second-round pick to the Saints for as well as are giving $18 million, has led the Broncos to possibly their worst regular season loss of all time. Under Payton’s hire Joseph Denver’s defense has collapsed and given the head coach is making a lot of roster decisions, the clear lack of talent also falls on him.
“We’re gonna work our tail off and get this ship straightened away. That’s gonna happen,” Payton said Monday. “The key is finding these guys, putting them in positions to be successful, and then, that confidence that comes from winning. That’s the main thing.”
The Broncos catch a break in facing the 0-3 Chicago Bears on Sunday, the losers of that game are likely aimed directly at the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and a possible winless season.
Payton said two months ago that the coaching job Nathaniel Hackett did a season ago, which led to a 5-12 record, was embarrassing—the same word he was using to describe Denver’s loss on South Beach.
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