According to league sources, the Denver Broncos will be reaching out to a familiar face to fill their defensive coordinator position in former head coach Wade Phillips. The former Broncos leader worked with Gary Kubiak in Houston at the same position from 2011-2013. Phillips was previously the Broncos' head coach for the 1993 and 1994 seasons, and he has ties to the team that go all the way back to 1989.
Phillips will take over a unit that was coached by Jack Del Rio, who left this offseason to take a job as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. The Broncos were 16th overall in points allowed (354) this past season. However, the defense as a whole ranked third overall, just behind the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. Phillips takes over a defense that had five Pro-Bowl players this season: linebacker Von Miller, defensive end DeMarcus Ware, safety T.J. Ward, and cornerbacks Chris Harris, Jr. and Aqib Talib.
The Broncos also hired Joe Woods as their defensive backs coach on Wednesday night. Phillips and Woods will be joined by Bill Kollar, who will coach the defensive line, and Reggie Herring, who is the linebackers coach.
What is not abundantly clear is whether the Broncos' defense will line up in 4-3, 3-4, or some combination of the two. According to cornerback Harris, the players will do whatever is asked: "With Jack (Del Rio) here the past four years, we've played 3-4, we've played 4-3, we've played everything, so us playing in every scheme since we've been here, I don't think it will be hard to adjust at all."