On Monday general manager John Elway tapped special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis as interim head coach while head coach Gary Kubiak recovers from a complex migraine condition.
Along with well wishes for coach Kubiak, the news was met with much excitement for DeCamillis, otherwise called “Joe-D,” including special teams all-star Dekoda Watson.
“He’s a great candidate for the head coach position,” Watson said. “The guy is very passionate about the game and very passionate about his players. He wants to make them succeed; that’s why he’s so hard on us.”
Countless players, including cornerback Chris Harris Jr., tight end Virgil Green, safety T.J. Ward and wide receiver Cody Latimer, to name a few, couldn’t speak highly enough about DeCamillis’ passion and energy.
“‘Joe-D’ has a lot of energy,” Green said. “It’s infectious, his energy. I think that’s going to rub off on a lot of guys, and we’re going to go out there and play hard.”
While Kubiak treats the players with respect and rarely yells at them, DeCamillis’ fired-up personality could be the perfect change of pace coming off of a loss on a short week.
“He’s going to be even more fired up,” Latimer said. “He’s an exciting coach, somebody that brings energy into a meeting rooms and things like that. I think we’ll be excited out there, to go out there and kick butt for him.”
Although primarily focused with special teams, DeCamillis commands the respect and attention from every player, even if they don’t play special teams.
“We have a lot of respect for ‘Joe-D,'” Ward said. “He’s one of our most-vocal coaches. He’s not shy about telling guys if they are right or wrong. He’s a very smart guy and everybody loves him around here.”
Watson, who has worked very closely with DeCamillis all year on special teams, said DeCamillis is the same guy on the field when cameras are rolling as he is behind closed doors.
“What you see is what you get with him,” Watson said. “Good man on and off the field. He may cuss me out or go off on me on the field, and he’ll probably do the same if I were to do something bad off of the field. He is a very passionate man, just worried about our wellbeing.”
According to defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ definition of interim-head-coaching duties, DeCamillis is the perfect candidate.
“Really, interim guys just try to get guys to play as hard as they can, keep them motivated,” Phillips said.
Along with his infectious passion and energy, DeCamillis is a local to Broncos Country. Not only did DeCamillis go to college just across the boarder at the University of Wyoming, he was born and raised in Arvada, Colorado, and started his NFL career with the Broncos 1989 — his father even sells sausage underneath the south stands scoreboard at Sports Authority Field!
Even though Kubiak has proven to be the perfect leader for this team — winning Super Bowl 50 in his first year as head coach — ‘Joe-D’ may just be exactly what the Broncos organization needs right now, even if it is only for a week.
