Broncos quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb had his second interview with the Raiders on Monday night.
The Raiders announced the completion of that interview. It was their second of the day as they also had their second meeting with Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
Webb also interviewed with the Bills for the first time on Monday and Brady has also met with his employers about succeeding Sean McDermott. The Cardinals and Browns are the only other teams currently looking for a new head coach.
The Raiders also had a second interview with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and they interviewed former Giants head coach Brian Daboll last weekend. Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak had a virtual interview with the team earlier this month and could have a second interview this week, but there’s been no word of one being on the schedule at this point.
Say what you will about Sean Payton’s fateful decision to go for it on fourth down in the second quarter of Sunday’s AFC Championship, but you can’t say this: It was not a product of Payton being beholden to analytics.
Payton has been open about the ongoing influence of numbers in football. For Payton, they’re simply a piece of the puzzle. When he makes a move that seems to be driven by analytics, he’s not doing so at the behest of the Ivy League mathematician whispering in his ear. It’s Payton’s decision, influenced by all of the factors — including how he feels about the play he plans to call.
Indeed, and as reported by Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com, Payton had a decidedly old-school reaction when Bears coach Ben Johnson passed on a field goal to cap the opening drive of the divisional game against the Rams.
“Kick it,” Payton said.
After the play failed (the Rams intercepted the Bears near the goal line), Payton added, “Why are coaches not kicking field goals?”
The ESPN-Analytics-Say-Go vibe has taken over the sport in recent years, with coaches clinging to slim differences in percentages to justify being “aggressive!” Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. (And for some teams, like the Lions, the commitment to going for it removes all unpredictability from the moment.)
On Sunday, Payton seemingly zigged when he otherwise would have been expected to zag. He told Wickersham the goal was to go up 14-0, even thought 10-0 (and two scores) may have been good enough. And Payton thought he had the right play.
But there was a problem. And this is a credit to Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. He had self-scouted. He broke a tendency. He gave the Broncos a look that made it appear the play would work. At the snap, the Patriots shifted into a defense that neutralized the play.
“The look they showed on film, and the look we saw, wasn’t the look we got,” Payton told Wickersham.
That’s a huge part of the go-for-it decision. Calling the right play. And thinking the play that was called will work. There are many factors that influence the outcome. And many factors that determine the decision to go for it.
For Payton, it’s never about blind adherence to math. He ultimately made a decision based on all factors. And the Patriots ultimately disguised the defense they’d use to make the Broncos think the play they’d called would work.
Which overlooks another key factor in the go-for-it decision. Will the defense ultimately have a strategy for stopping that play you think will deliver success? When facing the Patriots and Vrabel, it’s worth taking seriously the prospect that they’ll be ready.
Still, it’s fair to believe Payton should have taken the points. Going up by 10 points could have meant everything, especially given the dramatic turn in the weather. And especially since a two-score game may have prompted an inexperienced quarterback to try a little too hard and to make a mistake that could open the floodgates for the Broncos.
Running back J.K. Dobbins was having a great season in his first year with the Broncos. It ended in Week 10 due to a foot injury. He wants it to in 2026 and beyond.
Dobbins explained his desire to stay in Denver to reporters on Monday.
“It starts with the ownership,” Dobbins said. “They get us everything that we need to be successful here. . . . There were things I would ask [owner Greg] Penner, and he would get it to us. He would get it to me. Then my man, coach Sean Payton, I love him to death. He’s one of my favorite coaches ever. Then [running backs] coach Lou Ayeni, too. It has been a great process with everyone here. Then the offensive line, and just like everybody, the brothers, and like the defense. I even felt like I was part of the defense because they wanted me here. [Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph] wanted me here. So it’s just been a great time here in my short time. I think that I’ll be here. Hopefully, I will. I think I’m a Bronco for life.”
Even if Dobbins (who had 772 rushing yards in 10 games) isn’t back in 2026, his connection to RJ Harvey will continue.
“I’ve been trying to give him feedback and all that stuff,” Dobbins said of Harvey. “Yesterday’s loss was tough, right? We weren’t successful on the ground. And I just tell them, ‘You have to just go back to the film and don’t worry about what the outside people are saying because they’re going to be on your butt, but you’re going to get better.’ I’m going to help him get better even if I’m not here. He’s my rookie forever. His name, I’m attached to him, and I want to make sure he gets better. So that’s my job, and I will.”
Dobbins becomes a free agent on March 11, unless he signs a new contract with the Broncos before then.
Still only 27, Dobbins has played well when healthy. He’s had back luck with a variety of injuries, however, and he’s yet to put together a full season with the kind of numbers that his game-by-game performances would generate.
Two new tight ends were added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster on Monday.
Dalton Kincaid of the Bills and Tyler Warren of the Colts will now be headed to San Francisco for next week’s festivities. They replace Travis Kelce of the Chiefs and Brock Bowers of the Raiders.
Kincaid had 39 catches for 571 yards and five touchdowns for the Bills this season. He also had nine catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns. It’s the first time he has been selected for the Pro Bowl.
Warren was a first-round pick last year and led all rookies with 76 catches in the regular season. He picked up 817 yards and four touchdowns on those receptions.
Broncos quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Davis Webb has finished an interview with the Bills for their head coaching vacancy.
The team announced the completion of the interview on Monday afternoon. It’s the first time that Webb has spoken to the Bills since they fired Sean McDermott last week and he was able to take the interview because the Broncos’ season ended with Sunday’s 10-7 loss to the Patriots.
Webb has been on Sean Payton’s staff in Denver for the last three seasons and he’s generated a lot of buzz as a head coaching candidate this month. Webb is also set for a second interview with the Raiders this week.
Webb played three seasons for the Bills as a backup to Josh Allen, who is also one of his closest friends. That would be an unusual relationship for a head coach and starting quarterback to have in the NFL, but the Bills could decide it is the right path for them to take after their latest playoff letdown.
