Davis Webb reportedly completed a second interview with the Las Vegas Raiders for their head-coaching vacancy on Monday.
The 31-year-old Denver Broncos’ offensive pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach is a serious prospect to take the reins in Vegas.
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His current boss, Broncos head coach Sean Payton, was asked Tuesday in his end-of-season news conference what it’d be like to face Webb twice a year as an opposing head coach in the AFC West.
“Well, it would be a pain in the ass for him,” Payton said in jest, drawing some laughs from the assembled media.
Payton has never been afraid to let tongue-in-cheek comments fly. In today’s world of social media, they’re often pulled and then aggregated without context.
Just before Payton’s humorous description of that hypothetical, he spoke at length about what it’s been like to see not only Webb but also other assistants on staff be pursued by other teams this winter.
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“Every year, you go through it,” said Payton, who is 18 seasons into his NFL head-coaching career and two days removed from his Broncos falling short in the AFC championship to the New England Patriots.
Payton mentioned that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has also attracted interest as a head-coaching candidate, and he alluded to the fact that defensive pass game coordinator and assistant head coach Jim Leonhard has been targeted as a potential defensive coordinator this coaching cycle.
“It’s part of the deal. You’re supportive,” Payton said.
Payton, who previously served on the NFL’s competition committee, explained that the hardest part is that these interviews take place during the season. For the Broncos, the season continued up until late January.
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“I think our guys have done a good job handling that, but it’s still difficult,” he said. “Because preparing for one of those interviews requires time, like quite a bit of time and then preparing for an opponent in the playoffs requires every waking minute.
“And so I don’t know that I have the solution, but I think it’s a challenge that we’ve battled as a league. But certainly supportive of those guys.”
Payton noted that he gave now-Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady his first NFL job. That was back in 2017, when Brady joined the New Orleans Saints as an offensive assistant.
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“So proud of him,” Payton said. “Just spoke to him two days ago. You want to see guys that come in and work that are part of your staff. You want to see them have success, not the other way around.”
Payton added: “We’ll figure out when and if we lose a coach what the plan’s going to be.”
As for Webb, the former Texas Tech and Cal standout and NFL backup quarterback has overseen Denver’s QB room since 2023. He was part of Payton’s inaugural Broncos staff.
Most notably, he’s assisted the development of Bo Nix, whom the Broncos selected No. 12 overall in the 2024 draft. Nix has thrown a combined 54 touchdowns in two seasons, and he’s already engineered 11 total game-winning drives, including eight this season.
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If Webb doesn’t land the Raiders’ head-coaching job, he still could get an offensive coordinator gig elsewhere. He’s in demand at the moment.
Payton knows that, but he’s also confident in his system.
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