Vance Joseph
Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). As a player, Joseph attended the University of Colorado as a quarterback and running back in the 1990s, and was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 1995, playing cornerback for them and then the Indianapolis Colts in 1996. After spending 12 years as a defensive coach in the NFL with San Francisco (2005–10), Houston (2011–13), Cincinnati (2014–15) and Miami (2016), Joseph was hired as head coach by the Denver Broncos in 2017, serving until he was fired after the 2018 season. After his first tenure with the Broncos, Joseph served as defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022, before being hired by the Broncos as defensive coordinator in 2023. Playing career High school career Joseph was the starting quarterback for three seasons for the Archbishop Shaw High School Eagles. He led his team to a 37–6 record in his three seasons and won Louisiana’s 4A state championship as a sophomore. He garnered USA Today honorable-mention All-America honors as a senior and finished as 4A state runner-up to Ruston High School. Joseph also was a starting guard on Archbishop Shaw's 1988–89 Class 4A state champion basketball team and lettered all four seasons in basketball. College career Joseph attended the University of Colorado, and played for the Colorado Buffaloes football team as a quarterback and running back from 1990 to 1994. Joseph played in 30 games for the Buffs as a backup to All-Americans Darian Hagan and fellow Marrero native Kordell Stewart. He completed 34-of-61 career passes (55.7%) for 454 yards with four touchdowns in addition to rushing 50 times for 237 yards with one touchdown during his college career. Joseph was also a member of the 1990 National Championship team. Joseph graduated from the Leeds School of Business with a degree in marketing in 1994. National Football League Joseph was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 1995 and switched to the defensive back position. He played two seasons in the National Football League for the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts. During his NFL career, Joseph started six games and recorded two interceptions. Coaching career College Joseph became a graduate assistant for the Colorado Buffaloes in 1999 and was there until 2001. After a brief stint as the secondary coach for Wyoming Cowboys in 2002, Joseph returned to Colorado to become the defensive backs coach in 2002 and 2003. He spent the 2004 season as the defensive backs coach for the Bowling Green Falcons. San Francisco 49ers On February 17, 2005, Joseph was hired by the San Francisco 49ers as a secondary assistant. In 2006, he was promoted to secondary coach, a position he shared with Johnnie Lynn until 2010, when Lynn resigned for personal reasons. Houston Texans Joseph joined the coaching staff of the Houston