How Davis Webb jumped from quarterback to coach in one offseason

The Broncos took an obscure route when hiring their new quarterbacks coach.

“I don’t know how many times this has been done,” general manager George Paton said on Tuesday. “You have to be pretty unique. You have to have a great football mind. I know he knows quarterbacks; he knows that position. He’s poised beyond his years. He’s been a coach, kind of like Jason [Garrett] throughout his career. Jason played a little more, but I see a parallel there.”

The Broncos hired Davis Webb, 28, to be their quarterbacks coach, the team announced last week. Webb is fresh off his sixth season in the NFL. During those six seasons he only appeared in two games, but he always found a way to stick around.

“I sat in there with Davis and the offensive staff [during the interview] and he blew them away,” Paton said. “He’s 28 years old, but he’s really bright, and he’s played. He’s really been a coach on the field since he’s been in the league. When you talk to the Giants and the Buffalo Bills and the value he brought to some of those quarterbacks there, whether it was Eli [Manning] or Josh [Allen]. Really excited about the hire.”

Broncos head coach Sean Payton heard from Manning directly in regards to Webb.

“He came highly recommended from a bunch of different coaches,” Payton said. “[Giants Head Coach] Brian Daboll, Eli Manning, I spoke to a number of people. I kept hearing the same things about him, so we brought him in.”

Manning and Allen aren’t the only notable people Webb has crossed paths with. Over the past decade, Webb has bounced from Texas high school star, to Texas Tech, to Cal, to the Giants, Jets, Bills and then the Giants again. He

He committed to Kliff Kingsbury’s Texas Tech out of high school, where he competed with Baker Mayfield for the backup job in his freshman season. Webb won, and Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma where he won a Heisman Trophy and became the No. 1 overall pick. When Patrick Mahomes entered the program, it was Webb’s turn to transfer out. He became a third-round draft pick during his lone season at Cal.

Webb entered the NFL in 2018 and served as Manning’s backup in the future Hall of Famer’s penultimate season. Executives with the Giants said Webb immediately served as a coach in the locker room and Manning endorsed Webb as a coaching candidate.

After a one-year stint with the Jets, Webb joined the Bills in 2019 after Josh Allen’s rookie season. During Webb’s three seasons in Buffalo, Allen grew from a potential bust to an MVP candidate.

When offensive coordinator Brian Daboll took over as the Giants’ head coach for the 2022 season, he brought Webb with him despite competition. The Bills wanted to hold on to Webb by making him their quarterbacks coach. Webb, of course, opted for one more season as a player. Giants starter Daniel Jones played the best football of his career by a significant margin.

“People kept bringing his name up to us,” Paton said. “We brought him in and he walks in the room and he lights up the room. When you start talking football with him, he’s poised beyond his years, he’s wise beyond his years. Just great football knowledge.”

It’s tough to give Webb credit for the improvement of the quarterbacks around him, when he’s a player and not a coach. All he can do is ask good questions in meetings, bring a couple of ideas with him and maybe share a tip or two. But when just about everybody he’s crossed paths with has called him a coach on the field—which is strange because he only saw the field twice in his six-year career—it’s easy to expect fire from that much smoke.

Plus, coaching is in his blood.

“He’s a coach’s kid, Davis is. He had a file on his computer of every gameplan that he’s ever had since he was in high school, then college,” Payton said. “It was really impressive just going through the process. Then, the fit for us, too—especially in that room—I think will be good.”

That last part is the key.

Russell Wilson is coming off the worst season of his career and Webb’s job is to turn him around, despite being a little more than six years younger. Luckily, Webb should have some help. Payton figures to be hands-on with Wilson and new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi was Payton’s quarterbacks coach for a decade in New Orleans.

Paton likes the pieces the Broncos have in place around Wilson.

“I think Russ has moved forward. We’ve all moved forward,” Payton said. “We’ve talked about last year and it’s been well-documented. It didn’t go our way. It wasn’t all his fault. We’re all to blame. We have to improve. We have to move on. With Sean here, with our new staff, I think we will.”