The Broncos are staying put with Vance Joseph.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's James Palmer reported Monday that Denver's first-year head coach will return for a second season in 2018.
Broncos football czar John Elway quickly confirmed the decision on Twitter:
"Vance and I had a great talk this morning about our plan to attack this offseason and get better as a team. We believe in Vance as our head coach," Elway wrote. "Together, we'll put in the work to improve in all areas and win in 2018."
While Joseph is safe, changes are coming to his staff. Special teams coordinator Brock Olivo, assistant head coach and running backs aide Eric Studesville, offensive line coach Jeff Davidson and receivers assistant Tyke Tolbert have been let go, according to Rapoport.
Joseph's status was in doubt following a disastrous campaign that saw the Broncos flatline to a 5-11 mark in the AFC West following five straight winning seasons in Denver. Along the way, the Broncos lost a whopping eight games by 10-plus points, a feat topped only by the winless Cleveland Browns.
The root of the problem was Denver's grisly play under center, where Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch all failed to emerge as a viable starter. To be fair, Joseph inherited this tangled mess of signal-callers from Elway, who went out of his way to trade up two drafts ago for Lynch, who has been nothing short of a disappointment.
Denver still possesses talent on defense, a unit that finished third overall this season despite ranking 22nd in points allowed. Much of that scoring came off ghastly turnovers by the offense.
Joseph has survived an awful first year, but marches into 2018 with plenty of pressure on his shoulders. If he waltzes out to a slow start, the hook could come quick.
