Report: Vance Joseph's Name Revealed on List of NFL HC Candidates
Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has been recommended on a list of diversity candidates presented to NFL teams with a head-coaching vacancy, according to Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette.
Rod Graves, executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, told The Denver Gazette that Joseph’s name is included on a list of diversity candidates for head coach that has been sent to NFL teams. The Fritz Pollard Alliance, named after the NFL’s first Black head coach in 1921, works with teams on diversity hiring.
“I have always held Vance in high regard,’’ Graves said via Tomasson. “He’s always been a standout, just a highly intelligent coordinator. I think he’s an outstanding leader.”
Joseph's past failure as a head coach, with the Broncos, ironically, will now be framed as having provided invaluable experience gained in the NFL crucible. However, to rejoin the NFL head-coaching ranks, Joseph would have to work hard as a coordinator to earn back some cache to his name.
Joseph breathing life back into career also meant making the difficult decision to head back to the Mile High City as a defensive coordinator under Sean Payton. It's a bittersweet location where Joseph had so spectacularly fallen on his face as a first-time head coach back in 2017-18.
After arriving back in Denver, tribulation soon followed, as in Week 3 of the 2023 season, the Joseph-led Broncos defense imploded on a historic scale against the Miami Dolphins, relinquishing 70 points, which was the most in the NFL since the 1960s. It was the type of debacle that costs a coach his job — and certainly never leads to lucrative head-coaching opportunities shortly thereafter.
But as things turned out, Payton stuck by Joseph when most head coaches would have expediently cut bait, if for no other purpose than to feed the villagers a scapegoat. Payton's unflinching faith in Joseph was rewarded by an equally historic bounce-back defensively, showcasing the unit's resiliency, as the Broncos notched 15 takeaways over a five-game span, winning all of them.
While the Broncos still finished near the bottom of most defensive categories — thanks to the 70-point/700-plus-yard Week 3 disaster — the unit's predatory opportunism was pivotal in sparking that five-game winning streak that resurrected the team's entire season.
"It took us a while to catch our balance," Joseph said via Denver Sports' Andrew Mason. "But I was proud of the guys for allowing us to coach them. Because it's pro football. They can say 'No' to your coaching. They can say, 'I don't agree with that.' But this group never did that to us. I mean, it was a group that was always open-minded and hard-working, and always positive."
The Broncos endured merciless criticism both locally and nationally after that 70-burger relinquished to the Dolphins. The derision and calls for Joseph's job only intensified as the Broncos limped out to a 1-5 start to the season. Joseph worked hard to help keep that single-game performance, as bad as it was, in perspective for his players.
"We had the one bad outing, but we knew inside of the room it wasn't that," Joseph said via Mason. "And that was the national narrative, obviously. And we lived through. We talked about it. We kind of laughed about it after three or four weeks because that wasn't us. And the film didn't speak to that. The score did, but the film didn't. So, we knew who we were. It was just a matter of getting back on track and playing good ball.”
Indeed, the experience Joseph gained while navigating past such a cataclysmic disaster might, ironically, help push him further into the frame for some vacant head-coaching jobs.
“They had some challenging times this season, but I think the type of coach that Vance Joseph is, he is held in high regard,’’ Graves said via Tomasson. “So, he’s obviously one of the names on the list. He certainly fits the bill.”
Joseph is bound to have one eye on getting back to the pinnacle of his chosen profession, despite the 51-year-old playing down his interest in such prospective job openings ever so slightly.
“Moving forward, if I get a chance to talk to some people, I would welcome that, but I’m not openly seeking it,’’ Joseph said via Tomasson. “We have to win games and my focus is winning games and when you win games, those turns happen naturally. Everyone wants to hire winners.”
The Broncos' late-season regression back to the mean, as evidenced by a brutal beatdown in Detroit and an ugly gotta-have-it loss to the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve, will need some explanation by Joseph in any potential interviews.
It always takes time for a failed former head coach to get back into the frame for the top jobs, especially in a league where failure gets stubbornly embedded in the collective consciousness. The Rooney Rule might give Joseph a leg up in securing some interviews, as well as the additional exposure the Fritz Pollard Alliance is affording him.
When push comes to shove, though, it's Joseph's confidence, candor, and ability to motivate men that have proven to be his greatest assets moving forward. These traits will serve him well if he does manage to get a head-coaching job interview in this cycle.
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