Vance Joseph Fired as Broncos HC After Back-to-Back Losing Seasons

The Denver Broncos fired head coach Vance Joseph on Monday following a 6-10 finish to the 2018 season.

"I spoke with Vance this morning and thanked him for all of his hard work as our head coach," president of football operations John Elway said in the team release. "Although we decided to make this change, I believe Vance is a good football coach who has a bright future in this league."

"Vance made a lot of strides and deserves credit for how hard and competitively the team played this season," Elway continued. "There's always going to be a high standard here—the bottom line is we need to win more football games. We're excited about the foundation that's being built and look forward to putting in the work to get the Broncos back on the winning track."

Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported the news.

In the wake of the decision, Schefter reported the Broncos requested permission to interview New England Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak as they search for Joseph's replacement.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio first reported Dec. 20 that the Broncos were likely to fire Joseph, barring a shift in the front office's thinking.

The Broncos hired Joseph in January 2017 after Gary Kubiak abruptly stepped down as head coach to address health concerns, and his first season on the job wasn't exactly smooth.

Employing a revolving door of quarterbacks that included Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch, the Broncos sputtered their way to a 5-11 finish that saw them wield the league's 27th-ranked scoring offense (18.1 points per game).

The defense also underwhelmed—a disappointment considering Joseph was hired for his defensive expertise after serving as the Miami Dolphins' defensive coordinator in 2016. All told, Denver finished his first year at the helm ranked 22nd in scoring defense (22.9 points per game).

Hope emerged entering the 2018 campaign after the Broncos pegged Case Keenum as their stopgap solution under center, but the results were mixed even though they made moderate progress in their aerial pursuits.

During their second straight losing season, the Broncos ranked 24th in scoring offense and 13th in scoring defense. 2017 and 2018 marked the first time since the 1971 and 1972 campaigns that the Broncos recorded consecutive finishes under .500.

General manager John Elway will now go back to the drawing board as Denver begins the search for a new coach who can successfully navigate the Broncos back to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.