Vance Joseph Reportedly Could Join Bengals as DC If Fired by Broncos

If Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph is fired this offseason, "he is expected to emerge as a candidate for the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator job and potentially even their head coaching job when Marvin Lewis decides he has had enough of coaching," according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Schefter added that multiple league sources expect the Broncos to move on from Joseph. In two seasons at the helm, Joseph and the Broncos have gone just 11-19 and currently sit at 6-8.

Joseph started his NFL coaching career as an assistant defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2005 before taking over as lead coach for the position group from 2006-10. He then coached the defensive backs for the Houston Texans (2011-13) and Bengals (2014-15) before being hired as the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator for a year in 2016.

In his three seasons as either a defensive coordinator or head coach, Joseph's defenses have finished 25th or worse in yards allowed twice and have been top 10 in points allowed just once (this season the Broncos rank 10th). The Broncos are also fifth in takeaways this season, a sign the unit has taken a step in a positive direction from Joseph's first year on the job. 

The Bengals, meanwhile, are last in the NFL in yardage allowed (413 YPG) and 31st in points allowed (29.5 PPG). Clearly, the Bengals need a change on the defensive side of the ball. The team already fired former defensive coordinator Teryl Austin this season, with Lewis taking over the role alongside his head coaching duties. 

Since that firing, the Bengals have shown slight improvements defensively, though they are still giving up 25 points per game, which would rank just 24th in the league. More importantly, the Bengals are just 1-4 since that decision. After starting 5-3, the team has seen its playoff hopes dissolve, though injuries to key players like Andy Dalton and A.J. Green also contributed to its downfall.