Outwardly, at least, Sean Payton didn’t seem much concerned about the prospect of coaching against Davis Webb twice a year in the AFC West.
“Well,” Payton said Tuesday, “it’ll be a pain in the (expletive) for him.”
On Thursday, any chance of Payton-versus-Webb in 2026 came to an end. Webb has withdrawn his name from the Las Vegas Raiders’ head-coaching search, a source confirmed to The Denver Post.
The 31-year-old quarterbacks coach had previously interviewed twice with Las Vegas and was considered a finalist for the job, but the Raiders have been increasingly connected to Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
After the Broncos fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi Tuesday, they’ll now have a clear shot at promoting Webb, one of the hottest-discussed young offensive minds in the NFL. After spending six seasons in the NFL as a backup quarterback, Payton hired Webb as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2023 for his first NFL coaching job and then promoted Webb to the team’s passing-game coordinator in 2024.
A source confirmed to The Post that Webb is a prime candidate for the Broncos’ OC job, and Denver plans to interview him for the position. The key question here, though: if Payton is willing to give up play-calling duties, a role he’s held as a head coach since his first beginnings in New Orleans. Webb has never called plays in a regular-season NFL game, but generated plenty of buzz after assuming play-calling duties for the Broncos’ 27-7 preseason win over the Cardinals in August.
Webb’s promotion is far from a sure thing, as he has standing interview requests from the New York Giants and the Baltimore Ravens for their offensive coordinator jobs.
The Broncos are also conducting an external search. The organization interviewed Bills quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry on Thursday, and still must interview at least one more diverse candidate in compliance with the NFL’s Rooney Rule.
The Raiders first held a virtual interview with Webb over the Broncos’ bye week in mid-January, and hosted him for another in-person interview Monday. Webb would’ve worked with former Broncos scout and current Raiders GM John Spytek in Las Vegas, and would’ve reported to minority owner Tom Brady, who played a leading role in the Raiders’ coaching search.
Reserve quarterback Sam Ehlinger told The Post in December that he thought Webb’s ceiling was a “very successful head coach.” For now, though, Webb appears focused on a slightly smaller step up the ladder.
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