Tag: Joe Lombardi

Broncos OC Joe Lombardi ‘really happy’ with QB Russell Wilson

“He’s really fun to work with,” Broncos OC Joe Lombardi said of QB Russell Wilson. “He shows up every day ready to work.”

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The Denver Broncos have a new offensive coordinator in Joe Lombardi this year. His biggest task in 2023 will be helping head coach Sean Payton get quarterback Russell Wilson back on track.

Lombardi was asked at the end of minicamp last week what it will take for Wilson to have a bounce-back season this fall.

“I think a lot of things,” Lombardi said. “Injuries are always a big deal. As you look at what happened last year, a lot of it was injuries. So, it’s about staying healthy. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but for June 14, we’re really happy with where he’s at. There’s some muscle memory that we have to overcome. He’s used to doing things a certain way and we’re presenting a new way of doing things.

“He shows up every day ready to work. He’s the same guy every day — same attitude, and he’s really fun to work with. I think the answer for him is what the answer is for everyone. Work hard every day, get your fundamentals down and understand what you’re trying to accomplish. So far, it’s been really good.”

Entering his 12th year in the NFL, Wilson might have some bad habits that are hard to shake. He might also have tendencies from his previous offenses that aren’t necessarily “bad,” but are different from what Payton and Lombardi aim to install this summer.

For the 34-year-old quarterback to have a comeback season, he will need to work hard this offseason to fix the areas of his game that Payton and Lombardi have identified. We don’t know if Wilson will be able to make those fixes, but we do know he has a hard-working mentality.

The coaching staff and supporting cast are in place for Wilson to revive his career. Now it’s up to him to take advance of the opportunity.

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Joe Lombardi joins Broncos after coaching up Justin Herbert

Broncos OC Joe Lombardi, the grandson of Vince Lombardi, helped Justin Herbert throw for 9,753 yards and 63 touchdown passes from 2021-2022.

The Denver Broncos have a new offensive coordinator in Joe Lombardi, who was brought in under new head coach Sean Payton to replace Justin Outten.

Lombardi, 51, is the grandson of legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi. The younger Lombardi has 27 years of experience as a football coach, including 17 years in the NFL.

Lombardi most recently served as offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021-2022, helping quarterback Justin Herbert throw for 9,753 yards and 63 touchdown passes over the last two seasons.

Lombardi will now aim to help Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson improve, and he has experience working closely with QBs. Lombardi had two different stints as a QBs coach under Payton with the New Orleans Saints from 2009-2013 (winning one Super Bowl) and again from 2016-2020.

In addition to working with the Chargers and Saints, Lombardi has also coached with the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, four college programs and a former XFL team. Denver will mark his third offensive coordinator tenure in the NFL.

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Broncos announce coaching staff additions: All 8 of the ex-Saints joining Sean Payton

Broncos announce coaching staff additions: Here are all eight of the ex-Saints joining Sean Payton in Denver

There we go: the Denver Broncos announced their changes to the coaching staff under Sean Payton on Saturday, and as expected there’s a large group of former New Orleans Saints assistants and players coming to town. Eight of the 15 announced hirings have ties to Payton’s tenure in New Orleans.

We knew most of these additions thanks to previous reporting from New Orleans and Denver, but there are a couple of unexpected surprises — including at least one former Saints player who is kicking off his coaching career with Payton on the Broncos. Here’s what you need to know about each of these new additions:

Broncos coaching staff update: Final pieces falling into place

The Broncos are expected to add Joe Lombardi, Keary Colbert, Michael Wilhoite and Greg Manusky to their coaching staff.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is getting closer to adding the final pieces to his staff.

In addition to hiring Vance Joseph as the team’s new defensive coordinator on Thursday, Payton also hired Joe Lombardi for the offensive staff, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. It’s not yet clear if Lombardi will serve as the offensive coordinator or in another role.

Lombardi worked under Payton in three different roles with the New Orleans Saints, including as a quarterbacks coach from 2016-2020. He served as offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021-2022 before reuniting with Payton in Denver.

Payton also hired wide receivers coach Keary Colbert on Thursday, according to a report from On3.com’s Matt Zenitz. Colbert, a former Broncos receiver, coached at the University of Florida last fall. Before that, Colbert coached at USC from 2016-2021, helping develop a group of receivers including Michael Pittman Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown and Drake London.

Denver is also bringing in Davis Webb as quarterbacks coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Webb spent time as a backup QB with three teams — most recently with the New York Giants last year — before joining the Broncos as a coach.

On special teams, Denver will hire Chris Banjo as an assistant special teams coach, according to Klis. Banjo, 32, is a former safety who was just officially cut by the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday. Banjo played under Payton in New Orleans and under new Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph in Arizona.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, Denver is hiring Michael Wilhoite as its new linebackers coach, according to Klis. He coached under Payton with the Saints from 2019-2020.

Wilhoite will presumably oversee the outside linebackers because Greg Manusky is joining the team as their inside linebackers coach, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He has DC experience with four NFL teams and most recently coached ILBs with the Minnesota Vikings last season.

Joseph’s defensive staff will also include holdover defensive line coach Marcus Dixon and defensive backs coach Christian Parker, NFL Network’s James Palmer confirmed Thursday. Klis had previously reported that the Broncos hoped to keep Dixon and Parker on staff regardless of who was hired as DC.

Ben Steele, who served as Denver’s assistant offensive line coach last season, will not be staying. Steele has joined the Arizona Cardinals as their new tight ends coach. We are tracking all of the changes to the Broncos’ coaching staff on this page.

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Two former Chargers coaches joining Sean Payton’s Broncos

Two former Chargers coaches are joining Sean Payton’s led Broncos.

The Chargers relieved former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi last month. And now he’s on another staff, heading to Los Angeles’ AFC West rivals.

The Broncos are hiring Lombardi to join Sean Payton’s staff, according to 9News’ Mike Klis. His role is yet to be determined, but being Denver’s offensive coordinator is a possibility.

This will be Lombardi’s third assistant coaching stint with Payton. He had two previously with the Saints and now will follow him once more to be on his coaching staff.

The Chargers let go of Lombardi because, in his first season as OC, they were top 5 in offensive DVOA, but they declined to 19th in offensive DVOA this past season. Additionally, his offense wasn’t catering to the strengths of quarterback Justin Herbert.

Along with Lombardi, former linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite is also headed to the Broncos, where he will serve as the outside linebackers coach. Wilhoite spent two seasons with Payton in New Orleans, one as a special teams assistant and the other as a defensive assistant.

Two more former Saints coaches are joining Sean Payton on the Broncos

Two more former Saints coaches are joining Sean Payton on the Broncos, both of whom were with the Chargers the last two years:

This shouldn’t surprise anyone, but more former New Orleans Saints coaches have been hired by Sean Payton with the Denver Broncos. Denver 9 Sports’ Mike Klis reports that Joe Lombardi and Michael Wilhoite are joining Payton on the Broncos — they both spent the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers before being dismissed earlier this year.

Lombardi’s role has yet to be defined, though he’s in consideration for the offensive coordinator job that Ronald Curry chose to pass on in staying with the Saints. He’s worked with Payton in New Orleans as his quarterbacks coach in the past. Wilhoite is holding the same title he had in L.A. as linebackers coach; when he was with the Saints, he helped out on special teams and worked as a defensive assistant.

They’re joining a group of former Saints coaches on the move to Denver. Payton hired away offensive assistants Zach Strief and Declan Doyle for promotions on his Broncos staff while convincing Mike Westhoff to end his retirement and come oversee the special teams units. He also brought in former Saints strength and conditioning coach Dan Darlymple who Dennis Allen dismissed last year. None of these coaches are irreplaceable for New Orleans, and many of them weren’t with the team anyway. But it sure is going to be startling to see so many familiar faces roaming another sideline.

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3 former Saints assistants ‘in the mix’ to join Sean Payton’s Broncos staff

Former Saints assistants Joe Lombardi, Dan Roushar, and Kris Richard are reportedly in the mix to join Sean Payton on the Broncos coaching staff:

It isn’t too surprising that Sean Payton is pulling from the years of connections he made with the New Orleans Saints to assemble his staff on the Denver Broncos. Payton is bringing Saints assistant offensive line coach Zach Strief with him to work with the Broncos blockers up front, and KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis reports that three other former Saints assistants are “in the mix” for jobs on Payton’s new coaching staff.

Two of them were just recently let go by second-year head coach Dennis Allen: co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Kris Richard as well as run-game coordinator and tight ends coach Dan Roushar. They aren’t alone, though. Let’s dive a little deeper into the names Klis reports are in consideration in Denver:

3 coaches ‘in the mix’ to join Broncos’ coaching staff

Joe Lombardi, Dan Roushar and Kris Richard are “in the mix” to join the Broncos’ coaching staff, according to 9News.

Denver Broncos new head coach Sean Payton has quickly started assembling his new coaching staff at Dove Valley.

After allowing Ejiro Evero out of his contract, the Denver Broncos have an opening at defensive coordinator. The team has already put in interview requests with Brian Flores and Sean Desai for the DC opening, and it’s probably worth noting that Desai told the Minnesota Vikings that he was removing himself from consideration for their DC position.

Meanwhile, three other coaches are “in the mix” to join Payton’s staff, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis: former Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, ex-New Orleans Saints run game coordinator/tight ends coach Dan Roushar and ex-Saints co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach Kris Richard. All three coaches have worked under Payton in the past.

Elsewhere on the coaching front, Brian Schottenheimer, who served as quarterback Russell Wilson‘s offensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks from 2018-2020, has been hired by the Dallas Cowboys as an OC. There had been some speculation that the Broncos might show interest in Schottenheimer, but he’ll land in Dallas instead.

We are tracking all of the Broncos’ coaching staff changes on this page.

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Grading the Chargers’ hiring of Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator

Here is our initial grade of the Chargers’ hiring of Kellen Moore to oversee the offense.

On Monday, the Chargers announced that they had hired former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as their new offensive playcaller. The move came less than 24 hours after it was reported that Moore and Dallas were parting ways after a disappointing playoff exit.

Let’s grade the hire, accounting for Moore’s reasons for leaving the Cowboys and what he produced in his time there.

Over the least four seasons, Dallas has fluctuated in offensive DVOA ranking. In 2019, Moore’s first as offensive coordinator, the offense skyrocketed from 24th in offensive DVOA to second in the league, behind only the Ravens. 2020, when Dak Prescott missed all but five games, produced less incredible results, falling to 24th. With Prescott healthy, the offense jumped back up to 6th, falling back to 15th this season with Prescott missing time yet again.

Such is the criticism of Moore: when everyone stays healthy, his offenses hum along to the tune of a top ten unit in football. Lose a key piece, however, and things begin to fall apart. If that sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the exact same narrative surrounding Joe Lombardi. However, Moore’s offenses at their peak have consistently outperformed Lombardi’s at theirs, and raising the ceiling in that manner is a must for the Chargers.

In his tenure as Cowboys offensive coordinator, Moore was never afraid to push the ball downfield:

That’ll be a huge boost for Justin Herbert, who many have felt has been underutilized in Lombardi’s short passing game scheme. Moore also gets his quarterbacks on the move: in the last two seasons combined, the Cowboys rolled their quarterback out more than all but eight teams. Herbert has shown ample ability to make throws on the run or while rolling out, which should only grow his prowess as a quarterback under Moore.

Moore also played quarterback in the NFL, which could unlock a new level for Herbert after playing under coaches without NFL-level signal-calling experience. It could also mean that the Chargers become more willing to move away from a veteran backup for Herbert, instead leaning towards a player they’re confident can keep the offense afloat.

Beyond quarterback, Moore’s hiring is a good sign for Austin Ekeler and Gerald Everett (or a tight end the Chargers draft in April). Dallas’ Tony Pollard ranked 23rd out of 116 qualifying running backs in target share when on the field in four seasons under Moore, suggesting that Ekeler’s large share of passing game targets will carry over into next season. With more space to operate as other players run downfield routes, this could result in a career season for the 28-year-old.

In the three seasons where Prescott was healthy for the majority of the year, Dallas threw to tight ends frequently. Their 280 receptions and 27 TDs in the 2019, 2021, and 2022 seasons both rank fourth in the league. Dallas also had Dalton Schultz on the roster, and the Chargers lack that kind of top-tier talent at present. But with a strong tight end class entering the draft, that may not be true much longer.

Overall, Moore’s hiring indicates the Chargers’ willingness to be aggressive in their pursuit of improvement on that side of the ball. The fact that this hiring came together as quickly as it did shows how much trust LA has in Moore as a scheme builder. While there are some criticisms that mirror the ones that beleaguered Lombardi, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Moore’s offense can bring the Chargers to new heights.

For all these reasons, I’m giving the hiring an A-.

5 things to know about new Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore

Highlighting important things about Kellen Moore and what the hiring means for the Chargers.

The Chargers agreed to terms with Kellen Moore to become their next offensive coordinator.

To get familiar with the new play-caller, here are some key things to know about Moore.