ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As the Broncos' voluntary offseason program nears closer, Head Coach Sean Payton has finalized his coaching staff.
Eleven coaches have officially been added to Denver's staff, including Lou Ayeni as Running Backs Coach, Davis Webb as Quarterbacks Coach, Austin King as Assistant Offensive Line Coach, Zack Grossi as Offensive Quality Control, Logan Kilgore as Offensive Quality Control, Favian Upshaw as Offensive Quality Control, Joe Vitt as Senior Defensive Assistant, Jamar Cain as Pass Rush Specialist, Isaac Shewmaker as Defensive Quality Control, Addison Lynch as Defensive Quality Control and Shaun Snee as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach.
Ayeni is a 15-year coaching veteran who will enter his first season at the NFL level. He arrives in Denver from Northwestern, where he spent the past five seasons as the Wildcats' running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. During his tenure, he helped Northwestern to a pair of Big Ten West championships. Prior to his time in Evanston, he worked as the running backs coach (2014-15) and associate head coach/running game coordinator (2016-17) at Iowa State. He also worked for the University of Toledo for four seasons after beginning his career as a graduate assistant at Northwestern. A former running back and safety, Ayeni played with the Colts (2004-05) and Rams (2005-06).
After a six-year NFL playing career, Webb joins the Broncos for his first season as a coach. The 2017 third-round pick spent time with the Giants (2017, '22), Jets (2018) and Bills (2019-21) and made his first start in Week 18 of the 2022 season. Webb spend the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Texas Tech before playing at Cal in his final season. General Manager George Paton said in February that Web has "great football knowledge" and that he is "poised beyond his years."
King has three seasons of NFL coaching experience and has spent more than a decade in the profession. He spent the 2022 season as the Bears' offensive line coach after working with the Raiders as an offensive quality control coach (2020) and tight ends coach (2021). Ahead of his NFL tenure, he spent five seasons coaching at Dayton, including three seasons as the team's offensive coordinator. A former fourth-round pick, King played 34 regular-season games for the Falcons from 2004-06. A Northwestern alum, King was college teammates with Offensive Line Coach Zach Strief.
Grossi spent the 2022 season in the same role for the Broncos after five years of NFL experience with the Buccaneers, where he worked as a scouting assistant (2014), pro scout (2015), assistant to head coach (2016) and offensive quality control coach (2017-18). He also worked at Hampton University as the quarterbacks coach (2019) and at Southern University and A&M College as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach (2020-21).
Kilgore, a former quarterback who competed during 2014 training camp with the Saints, played four seasons in the Canadian Football League before transitioning to a coaching career. His most recent experience came as the offensive coordinator of the Isidore Newman School, where he helped Arch Manning — nephew of Peyton Manning — throw for 34 touchdowns and just two interceptions in 2022.
Upshaw spent the 2022 season as an offensive analyst for Tulane, which won the American Athletic Conference and earned an upset victory over USC in the Cotton Bowl. He previously served as a graduate assistant for the Green Wave from 2018-19. He's also worked as Georgia Southern's running backs coach (2021) and the co-offensive coordinator for Astronaut High School (2017).
Vitt joins the Broncos after more than four decades in the NFl. He has worked for nine different NFL franchises, including the New Orleans Saints. Vitt worked alongside Payton for a decade in New Orleans, serving as the assistant head coach/linebackers coach from 2006-16. He began his coaching career in 1979 with the Baltimore Colts, and his most recent experience came with the Jets as the team's outside linebackers coach (2019-20). Vitt has served as assistant head coach for three different franchises.
Cain has spent two decades coaching at the collegiate and high school levels. He most recently worked at LSU, where he served as the team's defensive line coach and defensive running game coordinator. The team won 10 games and captured a victory in the Citrus Bowl during the 2022 season. Cain has coached for 10 different colleges and also participated in the NFL's minority internship program during training camp with the Cardinals, Chiefs and Raiders early in his coaching career.
Shewmaker will earn his third year of NFL coaching experience after working with the Chargers as a defensive quality control coach from 2021-22. He previously coached for the University of Tennessee (2020), the University of Alabama (2016-19) and University of Kentucky (2015). Shewmaker graduated from Alabama in 2019.
Lynch heads to Denver after spending the 2022 season as a quality control coach with the Lions. He also previously spent time with the Raiders (2021) and Chargers (2018-20). Before his NFL career began, he served as a quality control assistant at Florida State from 2012-17. The team won at least 10 games in five of his seven seasons and won the 2013 BCS National Championship. Lynch began his coaching career in 2011.
Snee arrives in Denver after spending the last two years as the director of strength and conditioning for the University of Wisconsin's football program. He also spent the previous six seasons in Madison. Ahead of his time with the Badgers, Snee worked with multiple teams at the University of Massachusetts and served as the head strength and conditioning coach for the baseball team. He also worked as a graduate assistant for two seasons at the University of Pittsburgh. Snee is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, a Certified Sports Nutritionist and a USA Weightlifting Level I Sports Performance Coach.
The team previously announced several members of its staff in February.
