Schefter: ‘Far-fetched’ to say Broncos job is Vance Joseph’s to lose

With the Miami’s first-round exit from the NFL playoffs at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, the path for the Denver Broncos to interview Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph became clearer.

According to 9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis, Joseph is expected to interview with the club for its head coach opening in Denver on Tuesday.

Broncos interview with head coach candidate Vance Joseph is now scheduled for Tuesday in Denver. https://t.co/GIUPS6X8la via @9NEWS #9sports

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) January 9, 2017

Joseph will be the third candidate Denver has interviewed since head coach Gary Kubiak stepped down last week. A group of Broncos executives, including general manager John Elway, met with Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub on Friday in Kansas City and Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan on Saturday in Atlanta.

However, Joseph has held the title of “leading candidate” basically since the Broncos options were unveiled. But ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter told “C.J. and Stokley” on Friday that it’s unlikely he’s the favorite without having interviewed.

“How would you know that anybody’s a favorite until you meet with somebody? And Denver hasn’t done that yet,” Schefter said. “And so maybe Vance Joseph turns out to be the guy, but to say it’s his job to lose this early on before they’ve interviewed one candidate seems a little far-fetched for me. But we’ll see how this plays out.”

Joseph did interview with the Broncos previously for its defensive coordinator opening in 2015 and has been considered the top candidate because of his leadership qualities.

His defense’s outgoing performance Sunday, however, might hamper Joseph’s chances a bit. The Dolphins gave up 30 points to the Steelers, who had 367 yards of offense and two touchdowns both on the ground and through the air.

Where Joseph may have an edge up on Toub and Shanahan, however, is that he’s available for hire now whereas the other two can’t be hired until their teams are eliminated from playoff contention.

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