Broncos Make 2 More Changes to Coaching Staff After AFC Championship Failure

“I want to thank these coaches for playing an important role in elevating our program over the last three seasons,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said in a press release. “I’ve been fortunate to work with Joe Lombardi for 15 years and am particularly grateful for his many contributions to our success as offensive coordinator. We sincerely appreciate Joe, Keary and Addison’s hard work and wish them all the best in the future.”

The firings all came just 2 days after the Broncos, the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs, lost at home to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

One of the glaring problems in the game was the inability of Broncos wide receivers to get open and drops, something Payton had been openly critical about in the wake of the loss.

“There were too many (drops) even down the stretch,” Payton said. “There’s a proper way to catch a football, and most of the time, it’s with your thumbs together, not the other way around.”

Colbert, a former NFL wide receiver, was Denver’s wide receivers coach for the last 3 seasons, joining the coaching staff when Payton was hired as head coach before the 2023 season.

Lynch was a defensive quality control coach for the Broncos in 2023 and 2024 before being promoted to cornerbacks coach in 2025.

Lombardi’s Firing First Domino in Staff Purge

While Lombardi and Payton had worked together for 15 years, that wasn’t enough to overcome the fact the Broncos’ offense held them back all year.

There’s an argument to be made that even though the Broncos finished the season 14-3, their record could have easily been 16-1 were it not for early-season offensive struggles that led to a pair of last-second losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers in the first month of the season.

“The move (to fire Lombardi) came as a surprise, especially given head coach Sean Payton’s heavy influence over the offense and the team’s overall progress during the 2025 season,” Heavy.com’s Dylan Tracy-Lindebaum wrote. “Despite the deep playoff run, Denver’s offense never cracked the NFL’s top 10 in any major category.”

Payton’s Decision Sank Broncos in AFC Title Game

While Payton spent Tuesday firing members of his coaching staff, sports pundits spent the previous 48 hours lighting Payton up for a decision in the AFC Championship Game which may have cost the Broncos a spot in Super Bowl LX.

Payton’s decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 at the New England Patriots 14-yard line in the second quarter instead of kicking a 31-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead. Instead, Payton and the Broncos attempted a short pass to rookie running back RJ Harvey that fell incomplete.

Broncos kicker Wil Lutz was 11-of-11 on field goals from 30 to 39 yards during the regular season.

“I just thought we had momentum, and if we could go up 14 that it would be a good call,” Payton said after the game. “Early, when we had the momentum, we didn’t come away with enough, having had that momentum and that field position.”