The news of the day on Wednesday was, of course, the hiring of Vance Joseph as the 16th head coach in Denver Broncos history. The buzz of the day, however, surrounded the future of beloved Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
Broncos Country has been boiling over since the news of Joseph’s hiring, as reports have suggested that Phillips may not be retained as DC on Joseph’s staff. Fans have even started a #KeepWade hashtag campaign to show their support. The Broncos themselves may not be as concerned as the fan base, however.
Cornerback Bradley Roby, a key member of Denver’s league-leading pass defense dubbed “The No Fly Zone,” joined Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 on Wednesday to assure Broncos fans that the defense won’t skip a beat, even if Phillips has to skip town.
When asked if Broncos fans should be worried about losing Phillips, Roby issued an emphatic reply.
“Nah,” Roby said, “cause we’re not worried. And if we’re not worried why should we be worried? Y’all are just fans.”
Indeed, fans do not see the same day-to-day work that Roby and his teammates see behind closed doors and Roby knows that there are few inside the walls at Broncos headquarters that work harder than the man expected to take over for Phillips, defensive backs coach Joe Woods.
“…Just seeing him work day in and day out, seeing how much [work] he puts towards it, how much it means to him – I think him becoming defensive coordinator would be a great accomplishment,” Roby said.
The deal is far from done, as Phillips’ contract is still good through Feb. 1, giving the Joseph plenty of time to sit down with Phillips to see if a future together makes sense. Regardless of the outcome, Roby doesn’t expect any decline in play from a defense that has ranked No. 3, No. 1 and No. 4 in the league over each of the last three seasons.
“I think if Wade comes back,” Roby told Goodman and Shapiro, “I don’t think we’re going to have a drop off either way.”
One thing Roby would look forward to with a head coach who is a former defensive backs coach and a possible new defensive coordinator who was a defensive backs coach would be more DB blitzes.
“We didn’t get that [many] last year. We’d probably get a little more involved in the ‘affliction’ game,” Roby said with a laugh.
So while Broncos Country may worried about the possible loss of Phillips, the players that make the plays on Sunday aren’t giving it much of a second thought.
Listen to the full interview with Bradley Roby, including his specific thoughts on Vance Joseph, in the podcast below.
https://soundcloud.com/milehighsports/1-11-17-bradley-roby-joins-eric-les-says-wade-phillips-leaving-nahhh-dont-be-worried-1
Catch Afternoon Drive with Goodman and Shapiro every weekday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.