If Vance Joseph’s head is spinning, it’s not because he’s one of the NFL’s hottest head coaching candidates. Nope. It’s because he has quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills crowding his brain.
The job stuff?
“It’s been on the back burner,” Joseph said on Wednesday. “For me, winning is a priority. What happens after that happens. I can’t control that.”
Win three more games and the Broncos will be Super Bowl champions for the first time in a decade, and the defensive coordinator’s calendar will undoubtedly be stuffed with more job interviews.
Joseph quickly and quietly dismissed any notions that he’s been distracted by future employment possibilities.
“What you learn in the process is that the (preparation) is overrated,” he said. “Most of all, you realize that winning helps. I’ve been focused the entire time on winning games for the Broncos.”
In other words, he didn’t spend last week cramming until midnight for job interviews.
“It’s more about a conversation about what they need and what I can bring to the job,” he said.
Linebacker Justin Strnad said his coach is all Broncos, all the time.
“It’s obviously always a difficult time when you have a bunch of interviews,” Strnad said. “And obviously, that’s a huge opportunity for him and stuff like that. But once this week started, I can assure you, he’s got nothing going on with that. It’s all us. All ball. Because we all just want to win. So I think he does a great job of handling both.”
Joseph steers an aggressive unit that finished the regular season No. 1 in sacks (68) and No. 1 in red zone defense, allowing touchdowns on 42.6% of drives inside the 20-yard line. Opposing QBs posted the third-lowest QBR against Denver (49.2).
Joseph’s schemes and ability to concoct defensive chemistry are major reasons Denver (14-3) earned the AFC’s top seed, a first-round bye, and a date with the Bills in the divisional playoffs on Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High.
Joseph took time during the bye week for preliminary interviews for head coaching jobs with the Cardinals, Ravens, Raiders, Giants and Titans. The Falcons have also requested an interview, though Joseph is off-limits until Denver’s season is done. The Steelers and Dolphins might also come calling.
“It’s flattering, but it speaks to the entire program,” he said. “Again, when teams want to hire a coach from a winning program, they want the recipe. It speaks to ownership here, it speaks to the coaches, it speaks to our players. It’s everyone’s reward, so to speak.
“Obviously, when teams are struggling and need a change, they look towards teams that are winning and how we flipped it here in the last three years. It’s pretty special. So, that secret lies with us … they want that secret.”
Not so secret has been Joseph’s ability to focus on the task at hand. Most of all, his calm demeanor has him in a good place — both in preparing for the Bills and in getting a chance to be a head coach again.
“I think the most hidden gem with V.J. is his patience,” defensive line coach Jamar Cain said. “I don’t have patience. And I try to focus on that and try to get better at having patience.
“But to see V.J. be so patient and stay calm and be the same person every day, that makes me want to be better. That’s the sign of a true leader to me. There’s times he could blow up, but he stays patient, stays calm, takes a deep, deep breath, talks to the guys and talks us through it.
“Everybody always wants to talk about the schematics and what he brings to the table, but (his) patience is crazy. That’s one of those virtues that we all wish we had.”
Joseph’s first tenure as Broncos head coach did not go well. He replaced Gary Kubiak, who stepped down after the 2016 season for health reasons. Joseph took over a team that had gone 9-7, but was sliding toward disaster.
In 2017, Denver started 3-1 but finished the season 5-11, a record that included a franchise-worst eight-game losing streak. There was scant improvement in 2018 when the Broncos finished 6-10, leading to Joseph’s termination.
But now he’s on the doorstep of a second chance. That’s no surprise to Strnad, who is slated to become a free agent at the end of the season. Might he follow Joseph if he lands another head coaching gig?
“Honestly, I’m so thankful for him, and I’ll obviously get the chance to talk to him about that when the season ends,” Strnad said. “But I really haven’t thought about that stuff. I know, obviously … things are going to change.
“People are going to be free agents and things like that. But, I haven’t really taken the time to think about (what happens) if Vance goes somewhere or whatever.”
If everything works out for Joseph, Denver special teams coach Darren Rizzi said a new team will be getting someone special. Rizzi and Joseph coached together with the Dolphins.
“Vance as a human being is the thing that I would (promote) the most,” said Rizzi, who interviewed for the Giants head coaching job last Saturday. “He’s a fantastic person and he’s got great character.
“I just love being around him, and I haven’t even talked about his coaching yet. He’s a players’ coach and they love being around him. He commands respect. I have nothing but superlatives for him. As a human being, Vance Joseph is an A-plus guy.”
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