As a coordinator, Vance Joseph spent his days solely focused on his players and on football. As a head coach, he's got more on his plate.

At Tuesday's AFC Coaches' Breakfast at league meetings in Arizona, Joseph said his new responsibilities — including planning travel and practice schedules — have been the most eye-opening adjustments of his young tenure.

That's where John Elway, the Broncos' Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager, comes in.

Elway, who is entering his seventh season in the role, provides a steady hand and wealth of knowledge for Joseph as he prepares for his first season with the Broncos.

When asked Tuesday about what it's like to work for Elway, Joseph made sure to verbalize just how important that support system has been:

"John has been great," Joseph said. "In my opinion, for a young head coach, it is a perfect setup. I do football; John does contract and personnel. We come together on both, but my area is football. As a young coach, I couldn't do both. I don't want to do both. It's too much. I want to coach the football team and allow John to do personnel and free agency, which he is really good at.

"So why should I jump into John's suit? He won't jump into mine. I want John's input on football. From the quarterback to how we play offense and how we play defense, I want his input. He's a great football mind. He's a bright guy. I want it this way. I'm football; he's personnel. He's contracts. Even with coach's contracts, that falls on John. I can coach my coaches without having this animosity about contracts. John takes it off my plate.

"In my opinion, he's a perfect boss to work for because he kind of shields me from a lot of things that most guys don't get shielded from. Even in Denver, when John makes a call in Denver, he's been so good there that there is so much trust with the fan base it goes over because John has been so good. I need John. He's a welcoming shield for me."