The Denver Broncos are dipping into the college ranks to fill a key spot on Vance Joseph’s defensive staff, hiring Colorado defensive coordinator Robert Livingston as their defensive pass game coordinator, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Livingston is expected to replace Jim Leonhard, who left Denver to become the Buffalo Bills’ defensive coordinator.
The “defensive pass game coordinator” role is a big-picture job inside the defensive staff — helping shape coverage plans, third-down packages, pressure/coverage marriage, and week-to-week adjustments against opposing quarterbacks. In other words: Livingston’s fingerprints will be on how Denver attacks the air.
There’s also a built-in familiarity with Joseph. Livingston and Joseph overlapped on the Cincinnati Bengals’ staff in 2014–15, giving Denver a coach who already knows the terminology and expectations in that defensive tree.
Livingston arrived at Colorado in February 2024 as Deion Sanders’ defensive coordinator (while also coaching the safeties). Before Boulder, he spent more than a decade with the Bengals in multiple roles — including safeties coach from 2016–23 — after earlier stints as a scout and quality-control coach in Cincinnati.
That résumé fits what Denver appears to be emphasizing: adding experienced coverage teachers who can help tighten up the pass defense, expand disguise/rotation tools, and help a veteran-led secondary create more takeaways.
With Livingston stepping into Leonhard’s old lane, the Broncos continue to reshape the staff around Payton and Joseph ahead of the 2026 season — adding another coach with both NFL defensive backfield experience and recent coordinator reps.
