Vance Joseph focuses on stopping Josh Allen, not head coaching opportunities

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Vance Joseph interviewed with five teams during the Denver Broncos’ bye week in his quest for a second crack at an NFL head coaching job.

What’s really on the defensive coordinator's mind, though, is getting another shot at Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills this Saturday in the AFC divisional playoffs. He's not even thinking of what may lie ahead.

“The job stuff for me is back burner. Winning is the priority right now, and what happens after happens,” Joseph said. “I can’t control that.”

The 53-year-old Joseph met with the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens. He was Denver’s head coach in 2017 and 2018, going 11-21 in two seasons. Joseph was brought back in 2023 by coach Sean Payton and has turned the defense into one of the best in the league.

Those job interviews were hardly a distraction. All he had to do was remember what happened last season in the playoffs when Allen and the Bills beat Denver 31-7.

“So my focus was the Broncos the entire time," he said.

Joseph's defense allowed just 18.3 points per game this season while recording a franchise-record 68 sacks, topping last year's mark of 63. Led by Zach Allen, Talanoa Hufanga, Nik Bonitto and Pat Surtain II, they kept teams out of the end zone in a franchise-record five games this season. They also buckled down in the red zone, allowing teams to score touchdowns in just 20 out of 47 trips. It was the lowest percentage (42.6) in the league this season.

That sort of production — and his team's 14-3 record — made him a hot head coaching commodity. Joseph has been all over the NFL and served in a variety of roles. He’s also been a defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and Cardinals, and coached defensive backs for the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers.

"It’s flattering, but it speaks to the entire program,” Joseph said of all the phone calls. “I think when teams want to hire a coach from a winning program, they want the recipe.”

His defense is trying to find a recipe to stop Allen, who threw for 273 yards and a score and ran for two TDs in a 27-24 win at Jacksonville on wild-card weekend.

“He’s a special player," Joseph said. “Obviously, there are certain guys in this league that can take over games, and he’s one of those guys.”

When Denver lost in Buffalo a year ago, Allen completed 20 of 26 passes for 272 yards and two scores. The Bills dominated time of possession, too, by a 41:43 to 18:17 margin.

"One thing we need to eliminate is his second-chance opportunities,” Surtain said of Allen. “He thrives off that and finding opportunities even if the play is not there. He is a great player, so we have to game plan and eliminate the explosives.”

A difficulty every team encounters is finding a way to mimic in practice what Allen can do on game days.

“His legs are special, he's got that size, he can make every single throw. That's not different for us, but you can't simulate it, obviously. If you could, you would. But you can't," Joseph said. “There’s one Josh Allen and he lives in Buffalo.”

Joseph runs an aggressive style of defense that, as Bonitto explained earlier this season, “puts us in a great position.”

"It’s more of a partnership,” Joseph explained. “When you find a group of guys that you have success with, it’s special. Because every team is going to change each year. So this team will change next year, and that’s sad. It makes me sad, but it will change.”

That's why he's cherishing this playoff run.

“You spend so much time with these guys," Joseph said. "You watch them grow. You watch them get married, have kids. It’s personal. If it’s not personal, you can’t be the best coach you can be, or the best team. It’s always personal with me and my players.”

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