Vance Joseph is starting to land on head-coach search lists

Vance Joseph is now among the names landing on head-coaching searches.

Monday, the New York Jets requested permission to interview the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator on Monday as their coaching search shifts into overdrive following the conclusion of the regular season. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the news. That came on the heels of reported interest from the Chicago Bears in talking with Joseph about their vacant head-coaching position.

The New York Jets put in a request to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph for their head coach job, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2025

Both the Jets and Bears fired their head coaches — Robert Saleh and Matt Eberflus, respectively — during the season.

In his second tour of duty with the Broncos following a head-coaching stint during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Joseph guided the Broncos to a No. 7 overall ranking in total defense in 2024, a 22-spot improvement from its spot in 2023, his first season back with the team after a four-year hitch as Arizona’s defensive coordinator.

Joseph’s defense finished in that ranking despite a rough December in which it was 32nd in the NFL in total defense over that five-week stretch. The Broncos were also dead last in the league in total defense in his first four games back in 2023 before righting the ship and becoming the No. 8-ranked unit in that category from Week 5 of 2023 through Week 12 of 2024.

Advanced metrics are even better for Joseph. The Broncos led the NFL in EPA/play in the 2024 season, at minus-.100. Denver was second in success rate allowed to opposing offenses at 40.3 percent, trailing only the Philadelphia Eagles.

Numbers like that — along with the growth of players like Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, Zach Allen, Riley Moss, Brandon Jones and P.J. Locke — will burnish Joseph’s potential candidacy.