ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Life as a first-year head coach in the National Football League is no cakewalk. Unlike rookie players, who are given the benefit of the doubt and operate under the expectation that they are going to make mistakes, rookie head coaches are not afforded any such benefit.
That could not be more true for the Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph, who was handed the keys to a winning football team just over one year removed from a Super Bowl championship. During the hiring process, it was widely believed that Denver was the best vacancy for prospective head coaches.
Unfortunately for Joseph, things haven’t gone as well as planned, and suddenly, among the new head coaches in the league, his Broncos are tied with the second-worst record while coaches like Sean McVay and Sean McDermott have their squads playing winning football.
Riding a five-game losing streak and having lost six of seven, Joseph now comes into a matchup with one of his mentors in desperate need of a victory. Marvin Lewis, head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, hired Joseph as his defensive backs coach in January of 2014. Lewis liked “VJ” so much that he and the Bengals blocked the Broncos from hiring the up-and-comer as their defensive coordinator in January of 2015.
“We were very fortunate to be able to bring him on the staff here,” Lewis told Denver media on Wednesday. “Before I ever had an opportunity to work with him, observing him from a distance and just watching how he communicated with people, watching always how prepared his player look, their technique and so forth. He’s really just a tremendous football coach. He has knowledge of all parts, able to communicate with the players so, so well. He’s just exceptional that way.”
Unfortunately for Joseph and the Broncos, he hasn’t proved to be “tremendous” nor “exceptional” in his new role in Denver, holding a record of just 3-6 as a head man.
Maybe Lewis can offer some help?
“Not this week,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll help him next week.”
But the 15-year head coach did offer a bit of wisdom or the rook.
“I just think that, you know, the next day is going to be better,” he explained of being a first-year head coach. “It’s hard to see sometimes, but it’s going to be better. I think the more you do this job, the better you get at it and even though it may not bounce your way all the time, you’re getting better.”
That improvement will need to come quickly before pitchforks come out in Denver but one thing is in Joseph’s favor. After playing arguably the three best teams in football, the Broncos are headed into a five-game stretch against opponents with a combined record of 18-29.
It starts Sunday, when the Broncos take on Lewis’ 3-6 Bengals—maybe Marvin could inadvertently help ‘VJ’ just one day before next week.
