Denver Broncos Fire Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi
Less than 48 hours after watching their Super Bowl dreams die in the snow against the New England Patriots, the Broncos made the call that many saw coming, but few envied: Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi has been relieved of his duties.
It’s a brutal business. One minute you’re 60 minutes away from the biggest game on Earth, and the next, you’re packing up your office because the offense couldn’t muster more than a single touchdown when it mattered most.
The Final Straw for Lombardi in Denver
The writing was on the wall before the clock even hit zero on Sunday’s 10-7 slog of a loss. When you have a defense playing out of its mind, and your offense manages to stall out repeatedly, heads are going to roll.
Lombardi took the fall, but the frustration has been building all season. Sure, the Broncos finished the 2025 season with respectable numbers on paper. They were middle-of-the-pack: 14th in scoring, 16th in touchdowns. In a vacuum, those aren’t “fire everyone” numbers. But in the context of a team with Super Bowl aspirations and a defense allowing almost nothing, being “average” is a capital offense.
The breaking point was undeniably that 4th-and-1 call against New England. You know the one. Early lead, chance to step on the opponent’s throat, and instead, a failed connection between backup QB Jarrett Stidham and RJ Harvey. Sean Payton admitted he regretted the call, noting it “irked” him. In the NFL, when the head coach is publicly “irked” about your unit’s performance in a Championship game, update your LinkedIn profile immediately.
Sean Payton’s Difficult Decision To Fire Lombardi
This wasn’t just a boss firing an employee. This was personal. Lombardi and Payton go way back. They have a relationship that spans over a decade, back to the glory days in New Orleans. Lombardi was the guy Payton trusted to help groom Drew Brees. He was the guy Payton brought in immediately to stabilize the ship in Denver back in 2023.
But loyalty in the NFL has a very short shelf life when championship windows are open. The dynamic was always a bit complicated. We all know Payton calls the plays. Lombardi was often viewed as a “coordinator in name only,” a heavy lifter during the week who helped game plan but didn’t hold the keys on Sunday.
That makes the firing even more intriguing. Is Lombardi the scapegoat for Payton’s own play-calling frustrations? Perhaps. But the coordinator is often the first valve released when the pressure gets too high.
The Bo Nix Factor: Did Lombardi Do Enough?
You can’t talk about this move without bringing up Bo Nix. The young gunslinger has had a record-setting start to his career, and Lombardi deserves credit for that development. Nix has looked like the franchise savior Denver has been desperate for since the days of Peyton Manning.
However, the offense often looked disjointed. It relied heavily on late-game heroics to mask quarters of stagnation. That inconsistency is what ultimately doomed Lombardi. You can’t live on miracle comebacks forever. Eventually, you run into a defense like New England’s that just slams the door shut. The Broncos need an offensive identity that dominates from the first quarter, not one that wakes up in the fourth.
Lombardi Out, Who’s In?
So, where does Denver go from here? The rumors are already swirling about Davis Webb. The current quarterbacks coach is a rising star. So much so that the Raiders are sniffing around him for their head coaching gig.
Promoting Webb seems like the logical “Payton” move. It keeps the system intact, prevents brain drain, and rewards the guy who has been hip-to-hip with Nix. But if Webb bolts for Vegas or Baltimore, Payton might have to look outside the building, which opens up a whole new can of worms.
For Lombardi, he’ll land on his feet. He’s got the resume and the rings. But for Denver, this move signals one thing clearly: Good isn’t good enough anymore. They built a Super Bowl defense, and they are tired of waiting for the offense to catch up.
