Joe Lombardi Officially Named Broncos Offensive Coordinator Under Sean Payton

Joe Lombardi was officially hired as the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos working under Sean Payton, the organization announced in a statement Friday.

Lombardi, 51, has a long history of working with Payton while the two were with the Saints. He served as an offensive assistant and as a quarterbacks coach in New Orleans, the duo will now reunite on Payton's inaugural Denver staff.

Lombardi most recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers—an AFC West rival for Broncos—for two seasons. He was fired following the Chargers' wild-card loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Chargers offense got off to a hot start under Lombardi in 2021, finishing top-five in both yards per game (390.2), total points (474) and points per game (27.9). Young superstar quarterback Justin Herbert also thrived in his second season in the league with Lombardi at the helm.

In 2021, Herbert threw for 5,014 yards—second-most in the league—and ended the year ranked top-five in passing yards per game (294.9), touchdowns (38) and QBR (70.9).

However, in 2022 both Herbert and the Chargers offense regressed significantly with Lombardi being at the center of the criticism, being blamed for his talented unit's underachievement.

Where Los Angeles struggled the most was in the red zone, where it only managed to convert 54.1 percent of their drives into touchdowns, 17th in the league. The team's goal-to-go percentage was also ranked 23rd in the league at just 65.6 percent.

There were also significant setbacks in the Chargers' rushing and passing attack. They were 30th in the league in both rush yards per game (89.6) and yards per rush (3.8), and that was with one of the most dynamic runners in the league in Austin Ekeler.

Herbert also regressed to the mean, throwing for 25 touchdowns, and finished 11th in QBR.

Lombardi will now be tasked with trying to salvage a Broncos offense that struggled severely in 2022 in Russell Wilson's first year in Denver.