As ESPN reporter Sergio Dipp once said, Vance Joseph is having the time of his life!
Vance Joseph is the mastermind behind the Denver Broncos’ defense that is once again leading the NFL in sacks, proving to be an elite unit in the NFL, and a big reason why the Broncos are 9-2, leading the AFC West, and are currently the number one seed in the AFC. He has become a beloved coach in Broncos Country, but it hasn’t always been that way.
Honestly, Vance Joseph is having a Hollywood-like redemption arc with
the Broncos.
Let us go back to the very beginning. The vast majority of Broncos Country wanted the Broncos to hire Kyle Shanahan as the Head Coach of the Denver Broncos. As we know, that did not happen, and they instead hired Vance Joseph to be their next Head Coach. So, Vance was already wasn’t our first choice, and on top of that, the Broncos continued to struggle while Kyle Shanahan had the 49ers back to the Super Bowl by his 3rd season with the team.
Joseph would only last two seasons with the Broncos before being fired and would finish with a combined 11-21 record. While it was not all his fault (No real ownership and on the back end of John Elway’s GM stint), Joseph’s tenure was deemed a failure, and we all wished they had attempted to hire Kyle Shanahan instead.
From there, Joseph would end up being hired as the Arizona Cardinals’ Defensive Coordinator and hold that position from 2019 through the 2022 season. Meanwhile, the Broncos would hire Vic Fangio, eventually fire him, then hire Nathaniel Hackett, quickly realize their mistake, and fire him.
At this point, most of Broncos Country has long forgotten Vance Joseph due to the constant coaching changes, a new GM, and the team being sold to a new ownership group. The Broncos would go on the hire former New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton to take over the Broncos, and his first choice to become his Defensive Coordinator in the Mile High City was former Broncos Head Coach…Vic Fangio.
After having a recent exit with the team, Fangio did not seem comfortable returning to the Broncos in a lesser role and would go on to become the Miami Dolphins’ Defensive Coordinator before ending up in Philadelphia a year later. So, Payton had to look elsewhere, and while the Broncos interviewed multiple candidates, another former Broncos Head Coach emerged as the leading candidate for the job, and it was none other than Vance Joseph.
Payton would end up hiring Vance Joseph as his Defensive Coordinator with the Broncos, and this hire was met with a bit of skepticism. As I previously stated, his tenure as Head Coach was deemed a failure, and his stints as Defensive Coordinator were average or sub-par at best. It wasn’t moving the needle for many in Broncos Country, and Joseph would need to do something big to earn the love and respect from the fan base.
The Broncos would start the 2023 season 0-3, which included the Broncos giving up 35 points to Sam Howell and the Washington Commanders, followed by the infamous 70-point beatdown by the Dolphins. This performance led me to write that the Broncos NEEDED to fire Vance Joseph after this game. The Broncos were 0-3, the team was a laughing stock, and Joseph’s defense looked horrendous.
Thankfully, the Broncos did not listen to my dumbass and continued with Joseph because things would change for the better from that moment on.
The Broncos’ defense started playing better after making some player changes, and despite starting 1-5, the Broncos would finish 8-9 on the year and have a 5-game win streak mixed in. It wasn’t great, but it was a big step in the right direction for this franchise.
Things really turned the corner in 2024. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix looked like the real deal, and Joseph’s defense allowed the Broncos to survive the growing pains and help carry them back to the postseason. The Broncos’ defense was a menace all year and led the NFL in sacks with 63. Edge rusher Nik Bonitto emerged as one of the best pass rushers in the NFL and earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, while cornerback Patrick Surtain II was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year.
After this, the tide started to change for Vance Joseph. His defense was playing elite football and producing incredible, award-winning seasons for the Broncos players. However, some doubters remained, especially after the Broncos’ defensive decline late in the 2024 season.
Due to those struggles, the Broncos focused on improving some weaknesses from the year prior and added players like Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, and rookie Jahdae Barron to the mix. Those additions, plus Joseph’s development and coaching of the defense, have turned an already very good Broncos defense into an elite unit.
Through 11 games, the Broncos are 9-2, have a commanding lead in the AFC West, are currently the number one seed in the AFC, and Joseph’s defense is a big reason for their success. Currently, they have the 3rd best defense in total yards, the 5th best passing defense, 4th best rushing defense, 3rd best scoring defense, best red zone defense in the NFL, best 3rd down defense in the NFL, and once again lead the NFL in sacks by a wide margin.
When I say by a wide margin, I mean it. They have 49 sacks on the year, while the next closest team is the Atlanta Falcons, who have 34 sacks and trail the Broncos by a whopping 15 sacks. Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers only have 12 total sacks on the year.
Vance Joseph’s defense is on a historic pace and has a shot to surpass the 84 Bears defense, who hold the record for most sacks in a season with 72. With 6 games left to go, the Broncos will need 23 more sacks to tie the Bears’ record and 24 to surpass it. On average, they will need about four sacks per game to reach that goal, and that seems very doable for this defense.
Due to all this success, Joseph is expected to be a hot Head Coaching candidate this offseason. He’s the architect behind this Denver Broncos defense, and teams are going to be lining up to speak to him; however, we hope he stays.
Joseph went from being a coach nobody really wanted or believed in to becoming a beloved coach that we really don’t want to see go. That’s a wild redemption arc, and one we haven’t seen the ending to just yet.
Vance Joseph is having the time of his life!
