Broncos Announce Firing of Three Assistant Coaches

In addition to parting ways with offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, the Denver Broncos announced the firing of two other Sean Payton assistants: wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch.

Payton released a statement on Tuesday confirming their departures.

"I want to thank these coaches for playing an important role in elevating our program over the last three seasons," Payton said, via the official team website. "I've been fortunate to work with Joe Lombardi for 15 years and am particularly grateful for his many contributions to our success as offensive coordinator. "We sincerely appreciate Joe, Keary and Addison's hard work and wish them all the best in the future."

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A longtime Payton lieutenant, Lombardi followed Denver's head man to the Mile High City in 2023. He was a coordinator in name only as Payton calls his own offensive plays, but Lombardi was credited with aiding in the development of franchise quarterback Bo Nix.

Colbert also joined the Broncos in 2023 after cutting his teeth as a WRs coach in the collegiate ranks. He was tasked with managing a wildly inconsistent group featuring Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, and Pat Bryant. Each player struggled with injuries or drops over the course of the 2025 campaign — such to the extent that Payton was pressed about the latter issue on Tuesday.

"Yes, there were too many [drops] even down the stretch," he conceded in his end-of-season press conference. "The thing with the draft, man, we've invested, and I like the players in that room. We've got different… We have speed, we have size, we have all the things I'm used to [and] you'd want to have in a good offense. But I think that there's a proper way to catch a football, and most of the time, it's with your thumbs together, not the other way around. The other way around, I'm serious, only exists when the ball is below your belly button. Even the deep balls should be caught with your thumbs together. So we have to be better at that.”

Lynch, too, was hired by the Broncos in 2023 and worked his way up to cornerbacks coach this past season.

Dec 7, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Denver Broncos wide receivers coach Keary Colbert on the sidelines during the second half against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Another Domino Set to Fall?

That Payton decided fairly surprisingly to pink-slip Lombardi so quickly following Sunday's AFC Championship Game may or may not coincide with the interest being garnered by one of his most ascendant staffers, quarterbacks coach/offensive passing game coordinator Davis Webb.

Webb is considered a frontrunner for the Las Vegas Raiders' head-coaching job, but many are interpreting Lombardi's firing as a cleared path to promoting Webb, ensuring he remains in the Mile High City.

Though that plan has yet to unfold, The Denver Post's Luca Evans reported Tuesday that Denver will conduct a "full search" for their next offensive coordinator.