Why Broncos' Davis Webb is the most interesting man in Denver's offseason

DENVER — The same day Davis Webb talked for the first time about his new gig with the Denver Broncos, his next one floated around the conversation.

What will that be for Denver’s (relatively) newly-minted offensive coordinator and play-caller was, of course, impossible to say from a sunny June practice field at Broncos Park, but if this new arrangement goes the way that Webb, head coach Sean Payton, quarterback Bo Nix and the rest of the Broncos think it will, Webb might be leading an NFL team sooner rather than later.

Not that there was ever much chance of that opportunity arising in Denver given the way Payton’s built a winner and title contender on the Front Range, but any notion of Webb succeeding Payton here — at least before leaving to go elsewhere — essentially rode the breeze West on Thursday when Payton agreed to a new five-year contract and said he plans to keep coaching for quite a while still.

“I’ve got a lot of juice left,” the 62-year-old head man said.

Five years in Webb Years is an eternity.

Five years ago, he was still turning down coaching job offers. It was between the 2021 and 2022 seasons that he told former Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott he wasn’t ready to be Josh Allen’s quarterbacks coach because he wanted one more shot at playing.

Since then, Webb’s autumns have looked like this:

— 2022: Back-up quarterback for the New York Giants

— 2023: Quarterbacks coach for the Broncos and Russell Wilson

— 2024: Quarterbacks coach for the Broncos and Bo Nix

— 2025: QB coach and passing game coordinator for the Broncos and Nix

Now he’s been promoted again to offensive coordinator and is taking over primary play-calling duties for Payton.

Five years from now, Webb could be any number of places doing any number of things, but perhaps the biggest surprise of all would be if he’s the offensive coordinator and play-caller for the Broncos. Heck, he nearly landed a head coaching job already this past winter when interviewing in, among other places, Buffalo and Las Vegas.

Had any of that or his future in Denver crossed his mind when he heard Payton signed a new deal?

The big Texan laughed a bit and smiled at the question Thursday.

“Nah, I’ve got a lot going on,” Webb said. “I like this, though. I like this new role.”

If there’s a person in the Broncos building that thinks Webb will be anything other than a smashing success calling plays, they’re hiding it well. The terms that get thrown around are the kind that come to mind when it’s hard to put your finger on just what the thing is. Genius, mad scientist, savant, so on and so forth.

A veteran defensive player popped his head out of the building during rookie minicamp last month, surveyed the scene and immediately marveled about Webb.

Maybe that’s how it will go. Webb will help the Broncos offense find a spark, continue his rocket ship trajectory and become the next whiz kid leading a team somewhere else next year.

It’s not always a smooth ride, though.

Four guys got their first chance at calling plays last year around the league. Three of them got fired, while Nick Caley is back in the saddle in Houston.

Of course, every situation is different. The New York Jets never really stood a chance and, by extension, neither did offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand. Kevin Patullo waited for his chance in Philadelphia and flopped. Josh Grizzard perhaps thought he’d follow in the footsteps of Dave Canales (2023) and Liam Cohen (2024) in Tampa Bay, but instead got fired.

Canales and Cohen turned calling plays into head coaching gigs and now are defending division champions in Carolina and Jacksonville. That can happen. So can the unemployment line.

Webb, for his part, seems to know it’s not easy.

“The most attractive thing was leaning on Sean,” he said about the job. “Being in gameplan meetings with him. Using his experience. I think that’s going to benefit a young play-caller. I’m not dumb. I know this is a lot.”

He also knows it won’t come without criticism and second-guessing. That will be loudest from fans after a bad game and most cutting if it comes from Payton the way Payton’s described it coming from his mentor, Bill Parcells.

All of that — the talent, the youth, the reverence from others, the relationship with quarterback Bo Nix, the future prospects and the trust from Payton — makes Webb the most interesting man on the field for the Broncos.

His impact and imprint on Denver’s fortunes this fall will be difficult to measure until the regular season begins because Payton’s always had his coordinators call plays during camp practices and he’s regularly handed the duty off during preseason games, too, including to Webb for one last summer.

He knows the first defensive coordinator out of the chute this fall: His former interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo and the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Spags could do whatever he wants to do,” Webb said. … “That will be a fun one.”

What comes after that is uncertain, for the Broncos in 2026 and for Webb down the road a bit further in what’s been a rapidly accelerating career.

This much feels obvious, though: It’s going to be a compelling ride.

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