According to the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson, the Denver Broncos officially interviewed pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Davis Webb for their vacant offensive coordinator position. Tomasson adds that sources have told him that Webb is the leading candidate for the job.
The Broncos surprisingly fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi last week after head coach Sean Payton expressed some displeasure about the offense during the team’s end-of-the-year press conference. He is a longtime assistant coach for Payton, so this was a surprising and significant change to his coaching staff. The leading candidate from the start to replace Lombardi was pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, who is viewed as an up-and-coming coach in the NFL. However, at the time, Webb was in the running to be the Las Vegas Raiders head coach and had multiple other teams interested in him to be their offensive coordinator.
So, the Broncos had some competition for Webb’s services. However, Webb would later withdraw from the Raiders head coaching search, and many of the teams interested in Webb as an offensive coordinator would go on to hire other coaches to fill their vacancies. While nothing is official, all signs do point to Webb returning to the Broncos, but this time as their offensive coordinator.
If/when the Broncos do announce that they have hired Webb to be their OC, the big question will be about play-calling. Will head coach Sean Payton hand over play-calling duties to Davis Webb in some capacity, or will Webb have the same role that Lombardi held previously? Even if he doesn’t get play-calling duties, having more responsibilities and a bigger voice in the week-to-week game planning should be beneficial for Webb and the Broncos moving forward.
With Webb’s interview officially done and the Broncos fulfilling their Rooney Rule obligations, we should have an official announcement sooner rather than later.
