Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi breaks silence on Pete Carmichael joining the team

When the New Orleans Saints Longtime offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael was fired, and all eyes turned to Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos as the presumed landing spot. Carmichael worked with Payton in New Orleans for 16 years, starting as QBs coach and spending 15 of his 18 seasons with the Saints as offensive coordinator, helping lead the team to Super Bowl XLIV.

If Payton were to make room for Carmichael in Denver, where would he fit in? When Payton landed the head coaching job in January 2023, he turned to another former Saints lieutenant to fill the offensive coordinator role — Joe Lombardi.

Would Payton choose to split the duties, as so many teams do these days? A running game coordinator and a passing game coordinator, like the San Francisco 49ers have been doing it for years now under head coach Kyle Shanahan?

No. It turns out that when the Broncos made the choice to hire Carmichael, his role was announced as senior offensive advisor. Lombardi has retained his full title of offensive coordinator, which is nominal in some ways. After all, Payton calls the plays on game day, but there’s more to coordinating an offense than that.

Carmichael’s insertion into Payton’s new Mile High group wasn’t forced or awkward. Carmichael and Lombardi have known each other for a long time, and there are other familiar faces that both coaches knew from New Orleans, like assistant head coach and special teams czar Mike Westhoff and strength and conditioning coach Dan Dalrymple.

After the Broncos’ final practice of the offseason, Lombardi spoke about Carmichael’s arrival and how the comfort level the two coaches share will help the team on its warpath in 2024.

“It’s nice to have somebody to lean on,” Lombardi said with a smile. “We’ve been together so long, there’s just certain things that come up that we have common experiences with. When you’re working on how you want to attack a defense or how you want to solve a problem, we’ve kind of been through that together, so it’s nice to have another guy that’s been with us so long and can help paint the picture for some of the new guys. It’s a real comfort level when you speak the same language and you’ve been through the wars together, it definitely helps.”

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While Payton deserves most of the credit for Drew Brees’ Hall of Fame induction, Carmichael deserves some credit as well. Both men know how to coach quarterbacks and teach offense, and Lombardi has also worked with a number of great signal-caller players.

With the help of Broncos QBs coach Davis Webb, the team’s trio of Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson has no shortage of expertise and experience to draw upon. Lombardi’s update on the Broncos’ quarterback competition punctuated his remarks at the podium and the final practice of the team’s offseason training program.

“I thought all three of them played well,” Lombardi said of the quarterbacks. “I think it’s the deepest room I’ve ever seen, just one through three. They’re all talented. They’re all managing the facilities well and growing mentally. So I’m encouraged by all three of them.”

Payton’s closing remarks on how the competition at quarterback is shaping up touched on the enormity of the task each player faces, as well as Stidham’s advantage in terms of time spent in the system. But it’s Payton’s remarks on how first-round rookie Nix has been as advertised so far — displaying all the traits that made the Broncos fall in love with him before the draft — that should make every fan sit up a little straighter in their seats.

“We gave a lot to those three guys, and obviously Jarrett’s got a year more to figure it out,” Payton said. “The two younger guys — and I mean the two younger guys, but the two new guys — Zach and Bo have learned a lot in a short period of time. Really, in the season, you spend a week on a plan. Here we are moving forward. Overall, though, that’s what we’ve seen and what we’ve evaluated and that’s encouraging.”

Entering his second year with the Broncos, Payton has officially reassembled the group. Not only does he have his top lieutenants in the fold, but Payton has exorcised the Russell Wilson demon and now has his chosen quarterback to rebuild the Broncos in his image.

It’s going to be a fun year.

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