ENGLEWOOD — After a season in which the Broncos’ offense often was sluggish, head coach Sean Payton on Tuesday fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.

Lombardi, 54, had served in that role the past three seasons in Denver, making it 14 overall seasons he had worked under Payton. However, Payton has called the offensive plays since joining the Broncos in 2023.

Denver ranked No. 10 in the NFL in total offense and No. 14 in scoring offense in 2025, with the running game often struggling. The Broncos went 14-3 during the regular season and lost the AFC Championship Game 10-7 to New England on Sunday.

Payton spoke to the media Tuesday morning at Broncos Park in his season-ending press conference. Lombardi’s firing wasn’t announced by the Broncos until early evening.

The Broncos also announced the firing of wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch, who also had been with the team the past three seasons. Payton earlier Tuesday had been critical of Denver’s wide receivers dropping passes, so Colbert’s ouster wasn’t a surprise.

“I want to thank these coaches for playing an important role in elevating our program over the last three seasons,” Payton said in a statement. “I’ve been fortunate to work with Joe Lombardi for (14) years and am particularly grateful for his many contributions to our success as offensive coordinator.”

Lombardi’s previous 11 seasons working under Payton came when he was head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Lombardi was a Saints offensive assistant from 2007-08 and their quarterbacks coach from 2009-2013 and 2016-20. Payton coached New Orleans from 2006-11 and 2013-21.

The Broncos will conduct a thorough search for Lombardi’s replacement. They must comply with the Rooney Rule, which will require them to interview at least two diversity candidates.

If offensive pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Davis Webb isn’t named Las Vegas’ head coach, he could be a candidate for the job. Webb on Monday had his second interview with the Raiders. And Baltimore, Philadelphia and the New York Giants reportedly reached out to the Broncos on Tuesday in order to speak to Webb for their offensive coordinator openings.

Asked Tuesday morning what it would be like if Webb took a head position with an AFC West rival, Payton quipped, “Well, it would be a pain in the a– for him.”

Other possible in-house candidates could be Pete Carmichael and Zach Strief. Both have a long history of working under Payton.

Carmichael has been a Broncos senior offensive assistant the past two seasons. Before that, he had stints under Payton with New Orleans during all 15 of his seasons there. He was the Saints’ quarterbacks coach from 2006-08 and their offensive coordinator from 2009-23.

Strief, in his third Denver season, is assistant head coach and offensive run game coordinator. Before that, he had served under Payton at New Orleans for 11 seasons as a player and for one as assistant offensive line coach. Strief was a Saints tackle from 2006-17 and their assistant offensive line coach from 2021-22.

On Tuesday morning, Payton talked about assistant coaches he could end up losing. He mentioned Webb, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and defensive pass game coordinator-assistant head coach Jim Leonhard. Joseph has had remote interviews for six head positions, with the Arizona and Las Vegas jobs still open. Leonhard is a strong candidate to be named Buffalo’s defensive coordinator under new head coach Joe Brady.

“Every year, you go through it,’’ Payton said of losing assistants. “Davis, and you have Vance, and there are teams inquiring about Leonhard. It’s part of the deal. You’re supportive. … What’s difficult is when it’s taking place while you’re still playing.”

With the Broncos having a first-round playoff bye, teams were able to have remote interviews with their assistants the week following the Jan. 4 end of the regular season.

“We’ll figure out when and if we lose a coach, and what the plan is going to be,’’ Payton said Tuesday morning.

During his press conference, Payton discussed several shortcomings of the offense in 2025. He made note of the running game, which struggled after J.K. Dobbins was lost Nov. 6 with a left foot injury for what turned out to be the rest of the season. Dobbins led Denver in rushing with 772 yards while playing in just 10 games.

“The (running game will) be one of the points of emphasis that I think that we research and look into heavily,’’ Payton said. “I want to play from the gun, but I also will always want to play with a two-back or multiple tight end mindset (and) have that flexibility. … It’s one of the key things that we have to do this offseason.”

Against the Patriots, the Broncos had 24 rushing attempts for 79 yards. Take out quarterback Jarrett Stidham carrying four times for 23 yards and wide receiver Pat Bryant having a 1-yard carry and running backs had 19 attempts for 55 yards.

The Broncos had just 181 yards of total offense. But they were playing with a backup in Stidham, who replaced starting quarterback Bo Nix after he suffered a season-ending broken right ankle the previous week in a divisional playoff game against Buffalo. And the game against the Patriots was played with bad weather having arrived in the second half, which included the field being covered by snow by the start of the fourth quarter.

Payton also lamented Tuesday morning the many drops Denver receivers had, although he didn’t mention Colbert. The Broncos led the NFL in that category in the regular season and issues continued in the playoffs.

“There were too many (drops) even down the stretch,’’ Payton said. “I like the players in that (wide receiver room). … We have speed, we have size, we have all the things I’m used to (and) you’d want to have in a good offense. But I think that there’s a proper way to catch a football, and most of the time, it’s with your thumbs together, not the other way around. The other way around, I’m serious, only exists when the ball is below your belly button. Even the deep balls should be caught with your thumbs together. So we have to be better at that.”

Overall, Payton had plenty to be unhappy about with the offense in 2025. Lombardi and Colbert were two who have paid for that so far.