Former Broncos head coach lands new job: Tracking where former coaches will be in 2026

Former Denver Broncos head coach John Fox will be returning to the NFL at age 71 after a couple of years away from the game. Fox has been added to the Buffalo Bills' staff, led by Joe Brady, as a senior assistant. 

Fox last coached in the NFL during the 2023 season as a senior defensive assistant for the Detroit Lions. He was the head coach of the Broncos from 2011 to 2014, leading the team to four AFC West division titles. He was fired following the 2014 season for not being able to get the Broncos over the hump.

The team won the Super Bowl the next year with Gary Kubiak as the head coach. 

Fox then became the head coach of the Chicago Bears, going 14-34 in three seasons. He was out of the league until 2022, when he was hired as a senior defensive assistant under head coach Frank Reich. 

He now joins a Bills team that still feels it is a major Super Bowl contender despite moving on from head coach Sean McDermott following a loss to the Broncos in the divisional round of this year's playoffs. 

Below, find out where some other familiar names will be in the NFL for the 2026 season. 

Former Broncos coach tracker

Nathaniel Hackett

After going 4-11 in his first season as the Broncos' head coach, the team didn't even wait until the 2022 season was over to fire Nathaniel Hackett. He has managed to find new jobs since that debacle and though he was hired to serve as the quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins under their new coach Jeff Hafley, he took a job as the offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals just days later. 

Adam Gase

Adam Gase spent six seasons with the Broncos and rose through the ranks to become one of the best offensive minds in the game. That led to him getting head coaching jobs with the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, failing miserably in both roles. 

After being fired by the Jets in 2020, he had not held a role anywhere in the NFL until being hired as an offensive assistant by the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this week.

Mike McCoy 

Former Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, who took over as the interim head coach of the Tennessee Titans when they fired Brian Callahan during the season in 2025, has been hired as an assistant head coach as part of Klint Kubiak's new staff with the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Jim Leonhard

The Broncos badly wanted to keep Jim Leonhard on their staff, but when Vance Joseph was not offered a head coaching position for this coming season, Brady stole him away to become the new defensive coordinator for the Bills.

Keary Colbert 

After three seasons as the Broncos' wide receivers coach, Keary Colbert was relieved of his duties following the season, partly due to the team having too many drops. He was hired to serve in the same role for the Baltimore Ravens shortly thereafter. 

Addison Lynch

When the Broncos fired Colbert, they also moved on from cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch. He was able to find a new gig coaching defensive backs for the New York Giants as part of new head coach John Harbaugh's staff. 

Pete Carmichael

Long-time Sean Payton assistant, Pete Carmichael, who the Broncos let go of following the season, scored a big new job when he was hired by Brady to be the new offensive coordinator of the Bills. 

Zack Grossi

Zack Grossi served as a passing game coordinator for the Broncos this past season and spent four years on the coaching staff, fighting a battle against cancer during that time. In 2026, he will be the tight ends coach for the Ravens. 

Joe Lombardi

The Broncos fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi following the season, mostly to make room for Davis Webb to move into that role to prevent him from joining another team. Lombardi will join Grossi and Colbert in Baltimore as a senior offensive assistant for the Ravens.

READ: Broncos have dream prospect fall to them at No. 30 in this mock draft

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