Vance Joseph is making the interview tour this week.
Five NFL teams, including Las Vegas, Arizona, Atlanta and the New York Giants, have lined up interviews with the Broncos defensive coordinator, a source with knowledge of the interview requests told The Post on Tuesday. Those three are in addition to Tennessee, which was reported Monday.
Two of those jobs are particularly interesting.
The first is the Cardinals because Joseph spent four years there as the team’s defensive coordinator under head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Arizona’s current general manager, Monti Ossenfort, was hired as Joseph was leaving for Denver in early 2023, but Joseph knows Arizona owner Michael Bidwill well from his years with the organization.
Broncos defensive tackle Zach Allen has played all seven seasons of his career with Joseph as his defensive coordinator. He was drafted in the third round by Arizona in 2019, signed a free agent contract in Denver weeks after Joseph arrived and then inked a four-year, $102 million deal this summer.
“I’ve been with him seven years and I only want the best for him,” Allen told The Post last week. “I absolutely think the world of him and I think he deserves it all. Whatever he wants, he’s earned it and he deserves it.”
The other intriguing job interview for Joseph is the Raiders. Las Vegas is starting over after a failed one-year run with Pete Carroll. The Raiders’ general manager, John Spytek, is a former Broncos front office executive, though he and Joseph never actually crossed paths in Denver. In addition to Spytek, the Raiders’ search involves heavy influence from minority owner Tom Brady.
Coaching in Las Vegas, of course, would mean coaching against the Broncos and head coach Sean Payton twice per season.
The Giants represent one of the more compelling job openings of the cycle because they appear to have a young quarterback in place after Jaxson Dart showed promise as a rookie. Not only that, but they have a disruptive, talented defensive front that features Dexter Lawrence in the middle and the likes of Brian Burnes and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the edge.
“They have, like, four werewolves in there,” Denver offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said of the Giants before the teams played in October.
The head-coaching job in Atlanta, meanwhile, came open after the franchise fired Raheem Morris Monday despite ending the 2025 regular season on a four-game win streak. Atlanta also canned general manager Terry Fontenot, who has longstanding ties to Broncos head coach Sean Payton from days as an executive in New Orleans, amid sweeping organizational changes after two straight 8-9 seasons.
The Falcons also present an interesting option for Joseph, with young offensive talent like superstar RB Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London. There’s plenty of defensive promise, too, with rookie outside linebacker James Pearce (10.5 sacks in 2025) and first-year safety Xavier Watts (five interceptions). But Morris was a defensive-minded coach, and Atlanta could look to the other end of the spectrum for their next hire.
That means Joseph’s set to interview for five of the NFL’s current seven head-coach openings. A source told The Denver Post that neither Cleveland (who fired Kevin Stefanski Monday) or Baltimore (who fired longtime HC John Harbaugh Tuesday in a stunning move) have reached out to formally request a Joseph interview as of Tuesday evening.
Because the Broncos played Sunday and have a bye this week, Joseph can begin interviewing virtually with teams on Wednesday. Those initial interviews must be completed by the wild-card round. Subsequent interviews can follow either after Denver has been eliminated for the playoffs or, if the Broncos make the Super Bowl, on the bye week between the conference title games and the start of Super Bowl week.
“He’s the ultimate professional. That’s where we all get it from,” Allen said. “So, obviously, we’ll be playing for stuff while that’s all going down, but he’s the absolute best. Selfishly it’d be great (if he stayed) but we’ll see how the cookie crumbles.”
Broncos activate Karene Reid, sign McCalister. Denver will have a key special-teamer back for the playoffs, as the organization made the decision to elevate rookie inside linebacker Karene Reid off injured reserve Tuesday. Reid played 59% of the Broncos’ special-teams snaps before landing on injured reserve in early November with a hamstring injury.
Denver also signed safety Tanner McCalister to its practice squad, a familiar face. McCalister bounced around the Broncos’ practice squad in 2024 before being cut in June 2025, and offers some safety depth with starter Brandon Jones on injured reserve and backup P.J. Locke suffering a leg injury in Week 18.
This story will be updated.
