As a fired coach, trust me: Sean Payton's non-decision on Vance Joseph is paying off big | Mike Sanford's Coach's Corner

One year and six days ago, I found myself in a new spot.

I was a fan, not a coach, of a football team. Following the Broncos' 70-20 loss in Miami, which saw the Dolphins scorch Vance Joseph's defense for 726 yards, I felt the trauma of my 41 years connected to the game of football.

My knee-jerk reaction: Sean Payton is absolutely going to make a change at defensive coordinator — on Monday. The reasons for my reaction were all too personal and, unfortunately, show the ugly side of the coaching business.

For the first 23 years of my life as the son of a Division I coach, I lived and died every Saturday based on the result of my dad's team — whichever one it was. After playing five seasons of low-stress Saturdays as a backup quarterback and place-holder for Boise State, I decided to follow my dad into the gladiatorial ranks of coaching football at a high level.

The first 12 seasons, I enjoyed a steady rise — to the point of being the youngest head coach at the FBS level as a rosy-cheeked 34-year-old who had all the answers.

Two short years later, I was the youngest fired coach at the FBS level.

After a rehab stint as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Utah State — with future $220-million man Jordan Love — I found myself back in the cauldron of pressure. I was coaching Big Ten football at Minnesota. Two years later, after a 9-4 season, including the first win in two decades over rival Wisconsin, I was fired again.

A frustrated and hurt wife and three children knew they would be living in their 10th home. Our 12-year-old daughter would be attending her 11th school.

Thankfully, I got a call from Karl Dorrell, whom I had coached against the previous season in Boulder. We had found our forever home — on the Front Range. Right? Wrong.

After an 0-5 start, I saw the writing on the wall and, following the dismissal of Dorrell, was in the dreaded position of interim head coach of the CU Buffs. After a 1-11 campaign in 2022 and the dismissal of the entire coaching staff, it was time to hang up the whistle.

I've coached in games where my side of the football or my team had rough days. A seven-turnover mess in 2014 while coordinating Boise State's offense at Falcon Stadium against Troy Calhoun’s Air Force squad. A Minnesota loss to 30.5-point underdog Bowling Green, when my offense scored 10 points. Another stinker at Air Force in a 41-10 drubbing on a soaking wet Saturday.

If anyone understands what it feels like to question your employment status, it’s me.

I made my first appearance in media on TV as a Broncos analyst for the 9News morning shows following the 70-point debacle in Miami. My analysis, from experience, was that Joseph may not be the defensive coordinator at day's end. I checked social media over the next 48 hours only to find an absence of breaking news. I was stunned. I was relieved. I was impressed with Payton’s commitment to his first significant hire in Denver. I wish I had been granted that same grace in my coaching career.

The decision to not make the decision is proving to be the best move for Sean Payton in his first 19 months on the job. That belief and confidence entrusted into the other side of the ball was a risk worth watching unfold.

Would Joseph repay his boss for his vote of confidence? Oh, has he ever.

VJ’s 2024 defense has the makings of an Orange Crush 2.0, ranking third among NFL defenses by allowing 13.8 points per game, second in yards allowed per game (256.5) and fourth in passing yards allowed per game (146).

A defense with its share of preseason doubters has assaulted quarterbacks Geno Smith, Justin Fields, Baker Mayfield and Aaron Rodgers with 19 sacks through four contests. Joseph has thrown the proverbial kitchen sink at quarterbacks. One great example: the first snap against the Jets, which netted linebacker Justin Strnad his first career sack.

That particular look had seven rushers committed to the rush with only four players in coverage and no safety help. He has quarterbacks, coordinators and offensive linemen delirious in both pre-snap and post-snap looks due the mixture of 'shell' coverage, all-out pressures and everything in between.

Better than any scheme or statistic, Joseph has his defense believing in every defensive call he makes. His defense has belief. Belief creates buy-in. Buy-in creates effort. Effort creates havoc. The deeply rooted belief the Broncos stated in a joyous locker room in New Jersey goes back to another act of belief.

Payton stood by his coordinator in September 2023. He believed in Joseph. Belief is a powerful motivator. Belief leads to hope. Four games into this season, hope abounds for the Broncos.

(Mike Sanford coached at Stanford, Notre Dame, Boise State, Western Kentucky, Minnesota and served as the interim head coach at Colorado in 2022. The Erie resident is a regular on Altitude Sports Radio. His weekly "Coach's Corner" runs in The Denver Gazette after Broncos games.)