According to ESPN’s lead NFL insider Adam Schefter, a team source told him that the Denver Broncos maintain a “high level of confidence and comfort” in offensive coordinator and play-caller Davis Webb. NFL Network’s lead league insider Ian Rapoport adds that the Broncos kept someone they believe is a rising star in the coaching world and still believe it.
This offseason, Davis Webb was a wanted man in the NFL. After his work with Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, teams with coaching vacancies brought Webb in for multiple head coaching interviews. Once it became clear he wasn’t getting a head coaching job this offseason, multiple teams also showed interest in him as an offensive coordinator and play caller. However, he decided to return to the Broncos as their offensive coordinator, and in a surprising move, he was also handed play-calling duties by head coach Sean Payton. A lot was made of this move, and many were excited to see the changes and improvements Webb would bring to this offense.
Well, it did not go as planned.
Webb’s debut as an offensive coordinator and play caller was an epic failure. Nothing went right on Monday Night in Arrowhead vs. the Chiefs. Quarterback Bo Nix had one of the worst games of his career; the Broncos only had 6 rushing attempts at halftime, Jaylen Waddle finished the game with 1 catch for 2 yards, and their top-ranked offensive line struggled throughout the game. It was an ugly performance by the Broncos and a big step back from what we saw last season, specifically in the Divisional Round vs. the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs.
This led many to speculate that Head Coach Sean Payton would take over play-calling duties sooner rather than later. However, Payton and the team came out in defense of Webb this week and now have this Sunday morning news dump report further defending their offensive coordinator and play caller. So, it sounds like the Broncos will be sticking with Webb as their play caller moving forward, at least for now.
The Broncos are in a Super Bowl window and cannot have patience for a first-time offensive coordinator and play caller to go through growing pains and struggles early on. They are already 0-1 after an embarrassing blowout loss on Monday Night and face a tough Jaguars team that were the only team to beat the Broncos by double digits last season. If the offense struggles and the Broncos fall to 0-2 heading into a Sunday Night showdown vs. the Rams, things could get loud in Broncos Country.
With that said, hopefully we see some growth and improvement from the Broncos offense (and defense) today vs. the Jaguars. A good showing and a big win at home vs. the Jags would silence all the doubters and get the Broncos Super Bowl hype train back on track. More struggles and a loss would have all of Broncos Country slamming the panic button.
This is a big game for Webb and the Broncos, and hopefully, we are talking about a bounce-back win and performance and not another disappointing loss.
