Mile High Report
It looks like Vance Joseph will be heading back to the desert.
According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is expected to emerge as a strong candidate for the Arizona Cardinals head coaching position. Yesterday, we told you that Joseph was the current odds-on-favorite to be the next head coach of the Cardinals, and now we have a report from Klis saying Joseph will be a strong candidate for the job once he can officially interview for it.
Where there is smoke, there’s a fire.
Klis notes in his article that Joseph cannot interview in person for the Cardinals’ job until the Broncos are eliminated from the playoffs, during the week off before the Super Bowl, or after the Super Bowl. However, when he does, he is expected to emerge as a strong candidate for the job, and the strong relationship he built with Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell during his four-year stint with them is one of the many reasons why.
Although Arizona cannot seek permission to interview Joseph until either after the Broncos’ season ends or during the Super Bowl bye week, look for Denver’s defensive coordinator to emerge as a strong head coaching candidate there, a source tells 9NEWS. He had a previous four-year defensive coordinator stint with Arizona where he built a strong relationship with owner Michael Bidwell. Since then, Joseph reinforced his prowess as one of the league’s top defensive coordinators during his three seasons with the Broncos. And, finally, Joseph has previous head coaching experience as he led the Broncos from 2017-18.
While there are still 8 head coaching vacancies available, the Cardinals seem like Joseph’s best shot at becoming a head coach again. John Harbaugh is heading to the Giants, which leaves the Titans, Falcons, Browns, Raiders, Ravens, Dolphins, and Steelers jobs available. Those teams all appear to be heading in another direction, but the interest in Joseph could pick up once he can interview in person.
Vance Joseph was the Denver Broncos head coach from 2017 through the 2018 season, and things did not go great for him. The team at the time did not have stable ownership at all, was on the tail end of John Elway’s GM tenure, and they were still searching and failing to find a quarterback. Vance had his issues, too, but in retrospect, he was dealt a tough hand by the Broncos. After he was fired by the Broncos, he would go on to be the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive coordinator from 2019 through 2022. He was solid at best during his time there, but did not do anything to get himself back into the head coaching conversation. However, that all changed in 2023 when he had an opportunity to rejoin the Broncos and be Sean Payton’s defensive coordinator.
Vance’s second stint with the Broncos did not start great and was infamously part of the 70-point game vs. the Miami Dolphins. Many, myself included, called for him to be fired after just...
