The Broncos are making a significant change to their coaching staff.
According to NFL Media, Denver has fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.
Lombardi, 54, had been with Denver since 2023 when Sean Payton was hired as head coach. The move reunited the two men, as Lombardi served as offensive assistant under Payton with the Saints from 2007-2013 and 2016-2020.
Lombardi also served as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator under former head coach Brandon Staley from 2021-2022.
The Broncos could promote from within to replace Lombardi. Passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Davis Webb — who is up for the Raiders head coaching job — would ostensibly be a strong candidate to take over the role. But it seems unlikely that Payton would give up offensive play-calling duties to whoever takes over at OC.
News of Broncos quarterback Bo Nix’s broken ankle in the divisional round of the playoffs came as a surprise since he played the entire overtime win over the Bills, but head coach Sean Payton indicated on Tuesday the injury was inevitable.
Payton said that the surgeon that operated on Nix last week said that operation uncovered signs of a problem “coming sooner than later” for the 2024 first-round pick.
“What was found was a condition that was predisposed — they always find a little more when they go in,” Payton said in a press conference. “It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when. When you look at the play and you’re trying to evaluate it — the doctor, the operating surgeon said that this was going to happen sooner than later.”
Nix also broke bones in his ankle in high school and college, but Payton said that the team is not concerned about Nix’s long-term health as a result of his latest injury and the subsequent discovery by doctors. Payton said that Nix will “go about the rehab, proper orthotics, all those things” and that the outlook is “fairly optimistic” about how soon Nix will be ready to return to football activity.
The Bills promoted Joe Brady to head coach on Tuesday. Brady apparently already knows who he wants as his defensive coordinator.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Broncos defensive pass coordinator Jim Leonhard is expected to be a leading candidate to become the next defensive coordinator for the Bills.
The Bills have to comply with the Rooney Rule before hiring Leonhard.
After eight seasons in the college ranks, Leonhard joined the Broncos in 2024 as defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator. He added the title of assistant head coach in 2025.
Bobby Babich has served as the defensive coordinator for the Bills for the past two seasons. In 2024, the Bills ranked 11th in scoring defense (21.6) and 17th in total defense (341.5). The Bills were seventh (293.1) in total offense and 12th in scoring (21.5) in 2025.
Now that the Broncos’ season is over, their assistant coaches are fair game to be promoted elsewhere.
In his season-ending press conference, coach Sean Payton was asked about the possibility of offensive pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Davis Webb staying in the division as the next head coach of the Raiders.
“It’d be a pain in the ass for him,” Payton said, via Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette.
Frankly, he’s right. The AFC West has the Broncos, Chargers, and Chiefs. Webb, a third-round pick in the draft that produced Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, would be matching wits with Payton, Jim Harbaugh, and Andy Reid, twice per year. Webb also would be dealing with the fact that the Raiders’ roster has plenty of holes, and that the Broncos, Chargers, and Chiefs (with some fine tuning) will be in the playoff mix next year.
More than 20 years ago, Payton was a candidate to coach the Raiders. He was advised by Bill Parcells (among others) to not take the job. (Click this link for Parcells’s advice, and be sure to check out the Happy Meal story.) Payton waited for his shot with the Saints.
This time around, Payton may have similar advice for Webb, if an offer comes his way. And things will get very interesting if Webb takes the job anyway.
The Broncos hoped to have one more game to play in the 2025 season, but their 10-7 loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game meant Monday was devoted to looking ahead to Week 1 of the 2026 campaign rather than the Super Bowl.
Part of that forecasting involves changes to the roster. Players like J.K. Dobbins, John Franklin-Myers, Justin Strnad, and Alex Singleton are set to become free agents and there will be other changes that lead to a different group the next time they take the field.
Left tackle Garett Bolles said on Monday that he thinks the team needs “a couple more playmakers” and he thinks that the situation will be an appealing one for players looking for a new place to play.
“People want to come to Denver,” Bolles said, via Luca Evans of the Denver Post. “I mean, I’ll be shocked to see how many free agents want to come here. We got a young team. We got a quarterback. We got the best O-line in football — I don’t care what anyone says. We do.”
One thing that should help the Broncos in the new league year is that they will finally be rid of any salary cap obligations related to Russell Wilson’s contract. Finding the right places to spend that money will be crucial to their hopes of making another run at the Super Bowl at this time next year.
