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Joseph: Woods ‘ready,’ promoted to Broncos defensive coordinator

Jan 17, 2017, 12:57 PM

Joe Woods will officially get the opportunity his boss, Vance Joseph, and his players say he’s “ready” to take on, as the Denver Broncos promoted the veteran coach to defensive coordinator on Tuesday.

“Joe Woods is ready for this opportunity,” Joseph said. “He’s been a long-time NFL assistant coach and has done great work at the secondary position. No one will outwork Joe. He’s got tremendous attention to detail as well as a lot of familiarity with our players.

“It’s his time, and he’s ready for it. I’m very excited to watch Joe grow as a coordinator.”

The architect behind the “No Fly Zone,” Woods coached the Broncos secondary to back-to-back seasons as the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense.

In both 2015 and 2016, Denver held opponents below 200 yards per game — 199.6 and 185.8 yards per game, respectively — and the lowest completion percentage (57.8), yards per attempt (5.99), and passer rating (74.2) during that stretch.

Cornerbacks Chris Harris Jr and Aqib Talib were named first-team All-Pro selections in 2016 under Woods tenure, and the two will head back to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive year this season, joining safety Darian Stewart.

Having spent a quarter century in coaching, Woods, 46, coached NFL defensive backfields for the past 13 seasons with the Broncos (2015-16), Oakland Raiders (2014), Minnesota Vikings (2006-13), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2004-05).

Woods takes over for popular outgoing defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who took the same job with the Los Angeles Rams last week.

During Phillips two most-recent seasons in Denver, the Broncos defense was the best in the NFL in 2015 and ranked fourth in 2016, thanks in large part to Woods’ stout secondary.

Last week, Denver 7 Broncos Insider Troy Renck told “The Drive” that nearly a dozen defensive players said that though they were disappointed in Phillips’ departure, they supported Woods’ promotion and that he’s prepared to take that next step.

“I’ve talked to probably 10 players over the last week. Every one of them, while they would be sad to see Wade go, insists that Joe Woods is ready,” Renck said.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.

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