Report: Broncos request permission to interview Vance Joseph for their defensive coordinator position

According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, the Denver Broncos have requested permission to interview Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph for their defensive coordinator job.

With the Cardinals hiring Jonathan Gannon as their head coach, Vance Joseph will likely be allowed to explore other opportunities elsewhere.

The Broncos have been doing their due diligence on defensive coordinators and now we can add Joseph to the list of candidates. They interviewed Brian Flores for the job but he ended up with the Minnesota Vikings. Seahawks defensive assistant Sean Desai was an early front-runner, but that does not appear to be the case right now. Klis reported that the Broncos interviewed their defensive backs coach Christian Parker for the defensive coordinator job and have been discussing Mike Zimmer as a potential option as well. They also surprisingly interviewed Rex Ryan for the job and we had a report earlier this evening that he has emerged as a front-runner for the job. So, we shall see how this plays out in the coming days.

As we know, Vance Joseph was the Denver Broncos' head coach for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. In those two seasons, he had an 11-21 record for the Broncos and was fired at the conclusion of the 2018 season. Since then, he has been the Arizona Cardinals' defensive coordinator under head coach Kliff Kingsbury. However, with Kingsbury fired and the Cardinals hiring a defensive-minded head coach in Jonathan Gannon, Vance Joseph appears to be an odd man out in Arizona.

While in Arizona, Joseph’s defenses were average at best and that was also the case during his stint as the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator in 2016. So, his track record as a defensive coordinator is not very good.

Of the reported candidates, I would rank Joseph at or near the bottom of the list. He has never coached a top-flight defense and was an underwhelming coach while with the Broncos. This would be a very unpopular high amongst the fan base as well. Reports earlier in the evening made it sound like Rex Ryan is the favorite for the Broncos' defensive coordinator job, but we shall see how Joseph factors into the equation.