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Denver Broncos: Vance Joseph now clearly fighting for his job

By Erik Lambert

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Vance Joseph of the Denver Broncos looks on prior to the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 07, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Justin Heiman/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Vance Joseph of the Denver Broncos looks on prior to the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 07, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Justin Heiman/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos came into 2018 with high expectations and they seemed well-founded after winning their first two games of the season.

That has since cooled off after the team suffered a three-game slide ending with a crushing 34-16 loss to the New York Jets. A game in which the defense allowed over 300 yards rushing and rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill sliced them up with three touchdown passes. It was a humiliating afternoon of football and not the level of play that fans have come to expect from this team the past few years.

This might explain why head coach Vance Joseph is suddenly feeling his seat start to heat up in a big way. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network didn’t paint a rosy picture. Unless he’s able to deliver a strong showing over what is a do-or-die stretch the next few weeks, the odds are increasing that he may be out of a job by the end of this season.

"“Broncos coach Vance Joseph faces a critical stretch of the season that will be monitored closely by upper management, sources say.Mired in a three-game losing streak — though one was a near-miss against the high-powered Chiefs — it’s clear the results have to change.After the 2017 season, Joseph’s job status was an open question before he returned. The hope is to avoid a similar situation going into all-important games against the Rams, Cardinals, Chiefs and Texans before the bye week.”"

John Elway faces an uncertain future if forced to fire Joseph

Things haven’t been looking good for Broncos patriarch John Elway of late. His prized quarterback draft pick Paxton Lynch proved to be a colossal bust, never even managing to win the starting job. His original head coach choice Gary Kubiak was forced to retire for health reasons, leading to the addition of Joseph. Now that is going wrong in a hurry as well. Couple that with some serious questions about the roster elsewhere and it’s not looking great.

The good news for Elway is he’s a personal friend to ownership so the odds of him losing his job are remote. Joseph doesn’t have that luxury. He has to take the roster that Elway put together including an erratic quarterback in Case Keenum and try to win against what looks like a brutal stretch of games. That’s not to say he can’t do it. Coaches tend to deliver their best under duress but it’s certainly not looking good.

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