Broncos’ Vance Joseph proud of team’s defensive rally this year, excited about future: “Not having to start from scratch is going to be huge”

Vance Joseph knows the score in the NFL. It’s a tough business.

Early in the season, the Broncos’ defensive business was bad.

Since then, though, the Denver defensive coordinator has helped engineer a turnaround in a season he described Thursday as rewarding and also encouraging regarding what the future holds.

“It took us a while for us to catch our balance, but I was proud of the guys for allowing us to coach them,” he said in likely his final chat with reporters before the offseason. “In this league, it’s pro football, they can say no to your coaching. They can say, ‘I don’t agree with that.’ But this group never did that to us. It was a group that was always open-minded and hard-working and always positive.”

All of those characteristics might have gone for naught had Denver folded after its horrid start and the 70-20 Week 3 loss to Miami. Instead, though, the defense worked its way out of the deep hole.

The numbers won’t look great when the dust settles, but over the past 10 weeks they’ve been among the NFL’s better groups.

“He’s been very important,” cornerback Pat Surtain II said of Joseph’s role in that turnaround. “He’s been a vital part of our defense. He always kept his composure through the ups and downs. He always believed in us. Through the streaks of us creating turnovers and making big-time plays, he was the main piece of that because he brought everybody together and understood the goals.

“Without Vance, I don’t think we would have been in the position we’re in right now. He put us in a great position to win and make plays.”

Joseph, of course, returned to Denver this offseason to coordinate for head coach Sean Payton after previously serving as the franchise’s head coach in 2017-18. During training camp, he told The Denver Post he thought working for a long-time head coach would only help once a second opportunity to lead a team arises for him.

Joseph said his first year with Payton matched that expectation exactly.

“It was awesome working with Coach,” he said. “He is what I thought he was going to be. He’s a great leader, he’s a great teacher. That part was fun to watch. Every moment he got to teach, he taught. In the classroom, on the field, situational football, offense, defense. He knows the game and that’s the job of a head coach.”

Well, it’s part of the job of a head coach at least.

“And to motivate and to push the right buttons,” Joseph continued before cracking a bit of a smile. “His standard is very, very high for all of us and that made me search, man. That makes you a better coach because you don’t want to hear it. You want to please the coach and if you don’t, he’s going to let you know about it. He made me better through the hard times in the first part of the season, man, he pushed me to get better and it showed in our results.”

The results have been particularly good so far this year against divisional opponents. In going 3-2 against the AFC West heading into Sunday’s finale at Las Vegas, the Broncos have yet to surrender more than 19 points. They gave up 389 yards Week 6 at Kansas City and in the other four have averaged 279.8 yards allowed.