Vance Joseph gets new assistant coach from USC
The Denver Broncos they aren’t letting a heartbreaking loss in the AFC Championship slow their momentum. After finishing the 2025 regular season with a dominant 14-3 record, head coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph they are already gearing up for another run at the Lombardi Trophy.
According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, the Denver Broncos are hiring Doug Belk as their new tight end defensive backs coachcapturing one of the most highly regarded rising stars in the college coaching ranks.
Belk spent the last two seasons with the USC Trojans, where he served as secondary coach and helped transform a struggling unit into a turnaround machine. Under his watch, Southern California safety Bishop Fitzgerald became a consensus All-American after catching five interceptions and recording 51 tackles in 2025.
Prior to his time in Los Angeles, Belk made a name for himself as the defensive coordinator for the Houston Cougars, where his aggressive “Sack Ave” defense ranked among the best in the nation.
This signing seems like the perfect fit for a Denver Broncos defense that was absolutely terrifying last season. Joseph’s unit led in 2025 with a whopping 68 sacks, but the team is looking for a new spark in the secondary after going 10-7 defensive tackle against the New England Patriots in the AFK Championship.
In that snowy contest at Mile High, the defense did its part by sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Mayo five times and holding him to just 86 passing yards, but a late turnover proved costly.
Belk will now inherit a secondary loaded with elite talentincluding tight end cornerback Patrick Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga, who led the team with 106 tackles last season.
He also gets to work with cornerback Riley Moss, who had a career-best 80 tackles. With quarterback Beau Nix expected to be healthy for the start of 2026, the addition of Belk suggests the Broncos are doubling down on an elite defensive identity to finally overcome the problem.
2026-02-15 05:44:00
