Broncos Roundtable: What grade would you give Sean Payton for hiring Vance Joseph to be Denver's defensive coordinator?

Vance Joseph is back with the Broncos.

Following a two-year stint as the Denver Broncos’ head coach in 2017 and 2018, Joseph took his talents down to Arizona to lead the Cardinals’ defense.

On Thursday, Sean Payton brought him back to the Mile High City to once again lead Denver’s defense.

Was this the best hire Payton could have made to take over the Denver’s defense? Will he and the Broncos have the time of their lives this time around?

The DNVR Crew dishes out grades for the move.

What grade do the Broncos get for hiring Vance Joseph as their defensive coordinator?

Zac: C — In his seven seasons leading NFL defenses, whether as a coordinator or head coach, Joseph has proven to be an average coordinator. This isn’t a bad hire, but it also isn’t a great hire.

Since becoming a defensive coordinator with the Dolphins in 2016, Joseph’s defenses have ranked in the top half of the league in points allowed three times and in the bottom half of the league four times. However, a Joseph-led defense has never been a top-10 defense in points. That doesn’t mean he can’t eventually lead a defense to being elite, but he hasn’t proved that he can either. On the flip side, Joseph has had a bottom-five defense two different seasons.

In fact, when he took over the Broncos’ defense and the Cardinals’ defense, each unit regressed in the first year under him. When Joseph got to Denver in 2017, the Broncos’ defense fell from the 4th-best scoring defense in the NFL to the 22nd-best. In 2019 when he got to Arizona, the Cardinals defense also took a step back, going from the 19th-best scoring defense to the 26th-best.

The only time in which Joseph’s defenses have taken a step in the right direction was when he took over in Miami in 2016. The Dolphins’ defense jumped one spot under Joseph, going from 19th to 18th.

Despite it not being a flashy hire, the good news is Denver should no longer be relying on their defense to carry them. With Sean Payton in town, the Broncos will be leaning on their offense to carry them to the playoffs, not the defense. In the past, when Payton has had an average defense or better, he’s made the playoffs every single year. That’s Joseph’s task in Denver.

RK: C- — It only takes one look at twitter to see that this is a really tough sell for Broncos fans.

To bring in a former failed head coach in Denver, who the defense regressed under, is certainly a choice. And while this isn’t Joseph’s fault at all, it puts him in a tough position with the fanbase, where anything less than stellar defense will result in a toxic environment surrounding Joseph. It may not be fair but it’s the truth. Joseph is entering a very cold environment, and “when it’s cold, it’s tough.”

On top of that, VJ just simply hasn’t been all that good as a defensive coordinator in his career. Joseph has more defenses in the bottom five (2) than in the top 10 (0) under his guidance.

Even if you strip away all of the outside stuff, this is not a hire that would excite anyone. Here’s to hopeing Vance has a career year and redeems his reputation in Denver.

Hank: C+ — Vance Joseph’s poor reception in Denver was to be expected. As the Broncos’ head coach in 2017 and 2018, Joseph led the teams to its first back-to-back losing seasons in four decades.

Joseph’s in-game management was awful. For example, the Broncos offense lined up six yards from the end zone facing a 17-13 deficit with a few minutes remaining in a game against the Browns. It was 4th & 1. The easy call was to try to score a touchdown, but Joseph chose the field goal and the points. The nerds said his decision cut the Broncos’ chances of winning by a third, making that the single worst in-game decision the NFL had seen in seven years. And that was just the tip of the ice berg.

While Broncos fans think lowly of Joseph, the rest of the NFL sees him as a respectable defensive coordinator. Despite not posting ideal stats last season, Cardinals players campaigned for Joseph to get a chance as the team’s head coach. Joseph interviewed but, obviously, didn’t get the job.

Coming back to Denver was a bold choice for the 50-year-old, but there’s no reason he can’t be successful. His man-heavy scheme and frequent single-high safety looks—he’s a Wade Phillips disciple—place the onus on his cornerbacks and free safety to make things click; that means Pat Surtain and Justin Simmons will go a long way in determining whether Joseph is successful. Joseph should love his chances.

The vitriol from the fanbase makes sense, but it should subside over the next few months. And once it does, Joseph will trot out a defense that will hold its own against most of the NFL.