Broncos’ Vance Joseph lands new assistant coach from USC

The Denver Broncos are not letting a heartbreaking AFC Championship loss slow down their momentum. After finishing the 2025 regular season with a dominant 14-3 record, head coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph are already retooling for another run at the Lombardi Trophy.

According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, the Denver Broncos are hiring Doug Belk as their new defensive backs coach, snagging one of the most respected rising stars in the college coaching ranks.

Belk spent the last two seasons with the USC Trojans, where he served as the secondary coach and helped transform a struggling unit into a turnover machine. Under his watch, Southern California safety Bishop Fitzgerald became a consensus All-American after snagging five interceptions and recording 51 tackles in 2025.

Before his stint 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 nation’s best.

This hire feels like a perfect match for a Denver Broncos defense that was absolutely terrifying last season. Joseph’s unit led the way in 2025 with a staggering 68 sacks, but the team is looking for a fresh spark in the secondary after falling just short in a 10-7 defensive slugfest against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship.

In that snowy contest at Mile High, the defense did its part by sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye five times and holding him to just 86 passing yards, but a late turnover proved costly.

Belk will now inherit a secondary overflowing with elite talent, including lockdown cornerback Patrick Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga, who led the team with 106 tackles last season.

He also gets to work with breakout cornerback Riley Moss, who provided 80 tackles in a career-best year. With quarterback Bo Nix expected to be healthy for the 2026 opener, the addition of Belk suggests the Broncos are doubling down on an elite defensive identity to finally get over the hump.