So much focus has been put on the moves the Denver Broncos made on offense following their 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, that one critical role on defense got lost in the shuffle.
Lost in the wake of the firings of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and wide receivers coach Keary Colbert was that head coach Sean Payton also canned defensive backs coach Addison Lynch on January 27.
The Broncos finally replaced Lynch with longtime college assistant Doug Belk, who will be getting his first NFL job and taking on a world of talent along with it — a group that includes a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year in Patrick Surtain II and a 2025 1st round pick in Jahdae Barron.
Belk, 38 years old, has spent the last 2 seasons as USC’s defensive backs coach. He was the defensive coordinator at Houston from 2019 to 2023 and won a national title as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama in 2015.
“Broncos are hiring Doug Belk as their defensive backs coach, per source,” DNVR’s Zach Stevens wrote on his official X account. “He was USC’s DB coach the last two seasons. This will be his first job in the NFL with a wealth of experience in college.”
Firings Came Just Days After Deflating Loss to Pats
The firings all came just 2 days after the Broncos, the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs, lost at home to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
Lynch was a defensive quality control coach for the Broncos in 2023 and 2024 before being promoted to cornerbacks coach in 2025.
While the firings of Lombardi and Colbert were clearly the result of a rash of drops and an underperforming wide receivers room, Lynch’s was less clear. The Broncos were one of the NFL’s elite defenses and managed to get the No. 1 seed despite Surtain missing 3 games with a pectoral muscle injury.
Part of Legendary Coaching Staff at Alabama
Alabama’s 2015 coaching staff under head coach Nick Saban is truly something to behold.
Belk, a former quarterback at NCAA Division II Carson-Newman, joined the Crimson Tide as a graduate assistant on a staff that included future head coaches Lane Kiffin (LSU), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Mario Cristobal (Miami), Mel Tucker (Michigan State), Mike Locksley (Maryland) and Billy Napier (Florida).
One of Belk’s fellow graduate assistants was Oregon head coach Dan Lanning.
“(Belk) Is gonna be a great head coach,” Holgorsen told ESPN in 2022. “And, you know, when that’s gonna happen, I don’t know. But when it is, I’m going to be happy for him.”
No. 1 Task: Keep Surtain Playing at Elite Level
Belk’s No.1 job is obviously doing whatever it takes to help Surtain keep playing at an elite level — the way he plays cornerback is the crux by which the entire defense functions.
After that, it’s probably seeing what he can get out of Barron, who is coming off a disappointing rookie year but seems to have the coaching staff and front office behind him in a big way.
“You can see all the traits (with Barron),” general manager George Paton told ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. “He was good for us, but probably not so good for him — he was drafted into maybe the deepest cornerback room in the league and he made his mark. He’s just going to keep growing and keep getting better.”
Broncos Add Former Alabama & USC Assistant for Critical Role