From the moment the Denver Broncos’ best season in a decade ended last Sunday, head coach Sean Payton began publicly griping about a Denver offense that had mustered only a single touchdown in defeat.
He lamented first his own ill-fated fourth-down decision in the second quarter of a 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championsh. Still, he tied it back to a general theme: The Broncos squandered too many opportunities on that side of the ball, backup quarterback or not.
“We didn’t do enough to win it,” Payton said.
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That context helps frame the flurry of changes to the Broncos’ staff that has taken place in the days since that loss. Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi on Tuesday, who had been in that role since the staff took over the Broncos in 2023 and has been with Payton for 15 seasons, dating back to their time together in New Orleans.
Payton also fired wide receivers coach Keary Colbert after a season in which the Broncos had the second-most drops in the NFL (37) and added six more in two playoff games.
On Friday, senior assistant Pete Carmichael, who has been on Payton’s staff for all but one of his seasons as a head coach since 2006, was reportedly hired as the Bills’ offensive coordinator. Carmichael will work under new Buffalo head coach Joe Brady, another former Payton assistant. (The Broncos also let go cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch this week.)
It marks a substantial change for Payton, who has had either Lombardi or Carmichael — or both — helping him run his offense for nearly his entire head-coaching career. It also underscores a glaring bottom line for the Broncos as they approach a critical offseason: The offense must improve, and it could benefit from a new set — or two — of essential eyes.
The Broncos ranked 14th in the NFL in scoring this season, averaging 22.8 points. It was the highest average output for the Broncos since Payton arrived in 2023, but it still fell well short of the standard the veteran head coach has had for the units he steers. The Payton-coached Saints in 2021, in their first season after Drew Brees retired, averaged 20.6 points. Before that, you’d have to go all the way back to 2007 to find a Payton offense that scored fewer than the 22.8 points per game the Broncos averaged this season.
The Broncos are coming off a season in which they tied a franchise record with 14 wins, earned the AFC’s No. 1 seed and won their first division title in a decade. Quarterback Bo Nix and the offense often found a winning gear late in games, helping the Broncos finish with a 12-3 record in one-score contests, including the playoffs. However, game-to-game consistency has been a moving target.
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The Broncos put together one of their better offensive performances of the season in their 33-30 overtime victory against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round. Still, Denver has scored only seven points in each of its other two playoff games across the past two seasons.
Yes, one of those came in last week’s AFC Championship Game as backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham made his first career playoff start and threw into a swirling snowstorm in the second half. However, the results haven’t been consistent enough in the postseason.
Overall, the Broncos have not been able to “control” games with their running attack as often as they need to, Payton lamented this week.
That fact is at the root of the changes the Broncos have made this week. So what comes next?
The coaching staff shuffling appears to point toward a potential promotion for Davis Webb.
The 31-year-old, who has served as Denver’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator under Payton, has seen his profile rise around the league during this hiring cycle. He interviewed for head coach openings with the Baltimore Ravens, the Bills and the Las Vegas Raiders and was considered a finalist for the latter role. He’s also been requested for several offensive coordinator roles with other teams.
None of that interest is a surprise to Nix, whose development as an NFL quarterback since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2024 has been overseen by Webb.
“Just speaking for myself, Davis is a tremendous coach,” Nix said Wednesday. “He understands the role of being a coach and he understands the role of teaching. He really knows how to communicate with his players and communicate with me. He tells me, in two years, ways to consolidate and keep things simple and keep the main thing the main thing.
“He’s taken a lot of information and a lot of knowledge and is able to just roll right into it. … He’s got a lot in store for him in the future.”
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Webb on Thursday removed himself from consideration for the Raiders head coach search, which appears to be zeroing in on Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. The move wasn’t a guaranteed signal that Webb would be the Broncos’ offensive coordinator. He could potentially fill that role for another team.
Payton is interviewing other candidates for the job, too. However, there appears to be growing momentum for the young, highly coveted assistant to move into a more substantial role within Denver’s offensive ecosystem.
The question then becomes how much Payton would empower Webb in that role. Could it include passing off the play-calling duties that the coach has handled himself since becoming a head coach in 2006? Is that a sticking point for Webb in considering the job?
Payton is the architect of the offense and has been in control of it in Denver. He’ll play an outsized role in attempting to improve that unit, from roster choices to tinkering with the scheme. But will he let someone like Webb put more of his own fingerprints on the canvas?
How the staff comes together, and regardless of how roles and responsibilities are distributed, the shuffling that followed the bitter end to the season makes clear that the status quo isn’t acceptable for Denver’s offense. The unit must improve. Super Bowl aspirations depend on it.
