Vance Joseph knows it’s coming.
If his Broncos defense keeps playing the way it is so far this season, he’s going to be a popular name on the head coaching circuit this winter.
Joseph interviewed for jobs a year ago and has done nothing but raise his profile again this fall.
“I think it’s cool,” Joseph said Thursday of his name percolating again. “But obviously the job is the job and the job is the Broncos’ coordinator. It’s flattering, but my second time through the process -— or my third or fourth time through the process — I don’t think about it. I really don’t. Because I know it’s about winning.”
Joseph, of course, was Denver’s head coach in 2017-18 before getting fired. He then spent four years in Arizona as defensive coordinator and now appears poised to get a second chance at a top job after turning Denver’s defense into one of the league’s fiercest.
“Everybody wants to hire winners,” Joseph said. “They want to hire somebody who’s fixed something. There’s no better example than what we’ve done here the last couple of years. (Head coach Sean Payton) has obviously helped my learning of how to fix a team.
“The key is just to win. Not worry about the process. It’s the Broncos’ season right now and that’s my focus. If it happens, I’ll be happy. If it doesn’t, I have a good job. I have good players. I’m in a great city. I have no worries, honestly.”
Joseph said he’s learned a lot in three seasons now working for Payton, but particularly about the importance of finding the right players and allowing those players to develop a culture.
“How he paints the picture for each player. Each week’s game plan,” Joseph said. “The best thing (Payton) has done is change the culture and that’s players. How we draft players — the draft process is a deep dive into players. The person, the player, what’s the vision for the player? There’s no guessing when you’re drafting players and we’ve drafted really well the last three years.
“Even in free agency, very careful of who you bring into your culture. The culture is changed by the players.”
Shoulder pads for Denver. The Broncos spent Thanksgiving day wearing shoulder pads at practice. That was a bit of a message from Payton that the work doesn’t stop entirely for the holiday.
The other side of the coin, though: Denver got some physical work done on the field and then had its afternoon meetings canceled, which allowed players to get home early.
The Broncos will have a longer-than-normal Friday to help make up for the meeting time.
Surtain full go. Cornerback Pat Surtain II was bumped up to a full participant in practice Thursday, leaving no doubt he’s ready to return to action Sunday night against Washington.
The reigning defensive player of the year had been moving in that direction and Payton said Wednesday he was happy to have Surtain “back in the lineup.”
“We’ve made it (without Surtain) because we have depth,” Joseph said. “We drafted some young guys in earlier rounds that were waiting for more opportunities. I thought Jahdae (Barron) played very well as a starting corner in base and (Kris) Abrams-Draine played very well as a starting corner in nickel. So we had those two young guys kind of split Pat’s role and it worked out well for both guys. Moving forward, it’s huge for our team to have those guys play so many meaningful reps.
“And to get Pat back, now, we have no worries. Depth is what you have to have to win a championship and I think we have that.”
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