Written by Nicki Jhabvala at The Denver Post.com
John Elway was hopeful he could get one of those “bright young guys” as the Broncos’ next head coach — one who could revamp the offense, improve an already elite defense and be the leader the team needed to get back to the playoffs.
The hints were dropped, the checklist made and, on Wednesday, the deal reached: Vance Joseph was named the Broncos’ next head coach after agreeing to a four-year contract.
“Becoming head coach of the Denver Broncos is a dream job for many reasons,” Joseph said in a statement. “The Broncos have an unbelievable winning tradition and great fan support. But what makes this even more special is it’s a place that’s ready to win.”
When Gary Kubiak resigned last week, Joseph’s name immediately surfaced as a leading candidate in part because he’s been one for more than two years now, after first interviewing for the gig in 2015. Kubiak got the job then, but the Broncos were impressed by Joseph.
On Tuesday, he met with Elway, the team’s general manager, team president/CEO Joe Ellis, director of player personnel Matt Russell, director of team administration Mark Thewes and vice president of public relations Patrick Smyth for nearly four hours at the team’s Englewood headquarters. The conversation spilled over to the evening as they dined at Elway’s steakhouse in Denver.
No offer was agreed upon by the night’s end, though, and Joseph had been scheduled to leave for San Diego on Wednesday morning to interview for the Chargers’ head coaching vacancy.
But plans changed. He canceled his flight and returned to Broncos headquarters to finalize the deal and become the team’s 16th head coach and first full-time African-American head coach in team history.
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