Joe Lombardi, the former offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, could sense that the Turk was on his way to get him.
After being fired this week, Lombardi told Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette that he wasn’t surprised coach Sean Payton changed the coaching staff.
“Sean decided to move on and I guess that’s all that needs to be said,” Lombardi told Tomasson in a phone interview. “I don’t think it’s ever a surprise (in the NFL). Not really. … I think you could say he (Payton) was in one of those moods where he felt some changes needed to be made, and I guess he decided one of them was me. So I’ve been around him long enough to read the tea leaves, I guess.”
Lombardi joined the Broncos when Payton was hired in 2023. He had been with Payton, off and on, throughout his NFL career, spending 12 years under him during two stints with the New Orleans Saints.
The 54-year-old is no stranger to being fired. He was let go from his first OC job, in Detroit, after just 23 games (2014-2015). After two years as the offensive coordinator of the LA Chargers (2021-2022), he was fired by Brandon Staley. As such, he said his latest pink slip from a longtime friend in Payton won’t hinder their relationship.
“I think it’s part of the business,” he said. “I mean, he hired me for a long time. I’m grateful for that.”
Payton calls the offense, where Lombardi and others helped build the weekly system and coach the players. Lombardi dismissed the notion that he was the fall guy for the postseason failure, where quarterback Jarrett Stidham started against New England.
“Well, we made it to the AFC Championship,” Lombardi said. “I don’t know why there has to be a scapegoat, so I’m not sure what I’m being judged for. I thought it was a good season. So no, I didn’t think it was any way. I think (Payton) just wanted to go in a different direction.”
If passing game coordinator and QBs coach Davis Webb doesn’t get the Las Vegas Raiders coaching job, he would be a logical choice for a promotion that keeps the rising star in Denver. Another in-house option could be associate head coach and manager Zach Streif, who played under Payton in New Orleans.