With a championship-caliber defense and a coaching vacancy, the Broncos could have opted for a 2002 Buccaneers approach or a 2007 Steelers approach to filling the vacancy.
Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan would have been the 2002 Bucs option, the Jon Gruden who keeps the defense completely intact, applies a foot to the rear end of the offense, and pursues a championship immediately. Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph became the 2007 Steelers option, the Mike Tomlin who arrives as a defensive coach but who allows the defense to continue as it was, to the greatest degree possible.
The Broncos opted for Joseph, and there are multiple parallels to the decision of the Steelers to hire Mike Tomlin a decade ago. Like the Steelers, the Broncos had won the Super Bowl a season earlier. Like the Steelers, the coach of the Broncos walked away one year after winning the Super Bowl.
Like Tomlin, Joseph was a successful defensive backs coach who spent only one season as a defensive coordinator. Like Tomlin, Joseph walks in to a team with a 3-4 defense that is capable of performing with a high level.
The similarities end there, because there’s no Ben Roethlisberger in Denver. However, the Broncos have a first-round quarterback in whom G.M. John Elway has plenty of faith. And with Joseph taking over and a clean slate still in place for the offense that the team will employ, Joseph and Elway can come up with the attack that will get the most out of Paxton Lynch.
The hiring of Joseph also gives Elway the opportunity to have some influence over the offensive side of the ball, if Elway chooses to exert any of it.
Tomlin won a Super Bowl in his second season and went back in his fourth. Whether Joseph does the same will depend on the performance of the offense, which will depend on the quality of the team’s quarterback play. Even though Joseph is a defensive coach, his most important task will be getting the most out of whichever quarterback is on the field.
