Vance Joseph: Prelude

On January 11, 2017, the Denver Broncos hired Vance Joseph-- previously the defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins-- as their head coach, the 16th in the franchise's history. I'll admit, initially I wanted Kyle Shanahan, the son of former Broncos head coach, Mike Shanahan because of his familiarity with the staff and the offense, but he has a more aggressive approach with the offense.

When Joseph was elected instead, I was happy for a few reasons: he was someone John Elway had been pursuing for two years to join Denver's staff; his first attempt was to make him the defensive coordinator, but Vance was still under contract with the Bengals, and they wouldn't let him out of it, so legendary defensive mind Wade Phillips, the orchestrator of the historic 2015 defense was hired.

So when the head coaching job became available, I knew Elway would pursue him again. This time, he landed his guy. In terms of football, I trust John Elway's judgement, and there was obviously something about Vance that he pursued him so determinedly.

Another reason is because he's a brother (i.e. a black man). He's the first black head coach (full-time) in Broncos history, and I'm glad to see him make history. Not only that, he's a New Orleans native, just like myself. I know there's going to be some whining and crying, "Why does everything have to be about race?" Well, if mother f**ckers were just and fair in their dealings, this wouldn't even be a conversation.

Don't get me wrong, at the end of the day, as long as he's winning games (namely Super Bowls), I don't care what race or color he is, but at the same time, it's good to see a brother coaching my favorite team.

 So far, he's saying all the right things; well, at least in terms of what I want to see from the team. I want an aggressive, but smart offense, and he has stated that he wants an attacking offense as well. He seems to have the same gift of persuasion as Elway. As I mentioned before in my first blog, when the offensive coordinator spot became available, I was hoping for either Mike McCoy or Bill Musgrave, two offensive-minded guys that guided top ranked NFL offenses.

He managed to secure both of them, hiring McCoy as the offensive coordinator, and Musgrave as the QBs coach. That's like a young man trying to decide which of the two pretty young ladies he wants to take to the prom, and he shows up with both of them on his arms. I don't know how he did it, but kudos to him. The quarterbacks (Siemian and Lynch) can't help but improve under McCoy and Musgrave's guidance.

Joe Woods, formerly the team's secondary coach was hired as defensive coordinator after Wade Phillips departed for the Los Angeles Rams. The secondary players engaged Joe, and I believe the quality that made the secondary actively interactive with him will gravitate throughout the entire defense.

Brock Olivio, formerly the Chiefs assistant special teams coach, was hired to coach the special teams. Judging from his press conference, he's going to bring the spunk and energetic personality that will easily rub off on the players.

This is just a prelude of Coach Joseph; this is his first stint as a head coach, so the results remain to be seen. I love what I've heard from these guys so far. I'm looking forward to see how everything translates on the field.  After the 2017 season has concluded, I intend to give a more thorough analysis on Vance and his coaching staff.