Isaac Shewmaker enters his third season with the Denver Broncos and first as linebackers coach in 2025. He was hired by the club on March 25, 2023.
In Shewmaker's first two seasons with Denver, the Broncos recorded 105 sacks, which is the second most among all NFL teams in that span. Denver has also tallied the third-most quarterback knockdowns (219) and seventh-most quarterback hurries (344) since 2023.
Denver's pass rush posted one of its best seasons in team history during the 2024 season with the help of Shewmaker, totaling a new franchise record 63 quarterback sacks in 17 games. Additionally, outside linebackers Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper posted career years with both players hitting the double-digit sack mark while Bonitto was also named an All-Pro and Pro Bowler for the first time.
With Shewmaker's assistance, Denver also posted its first winning season in eight years in 2024 as well as its first playoff appearance since the 2015 season.
In Shewmaker's first season in Denver in 2023, the Broncos recorded 42 sacks, with 22 of them coming from outside linebackers. Shewmaker assisted in overseeing the outside linebacking unit that included Cooper (8.5) and Bonitto (8.0), who paced the Broncos in quarterback takedowns.
Shewmaker, who has nine cumulative years of coaching experience, spent the previous two seasons before joining Denver with the L.A. Chargers as a defensive quality control coach. While with the Chargers, Shewmaker helped the defensive coaching staff transition to a 3-4 base front scheme while focusing primarily on the secondary (2021) and inside/outside linebackers (2022).
In Shewmaker's two seasons with the Chargers, the club posted the third-most forced fumbles (32) and third-fewest completions against (667) while ranking seventh in completion percentage against (62.7) and ninth in passing yards allowed per game (210.8). While on staff, Shewmaker helped safety Derwin James earÂÂn Associated Press second-team All-Pro honors (2022) and Pro Bowl nods in 2021 and '22.
In 2022, the Chargers' defense ranked seventh in passing defense (200.4 ypg) while allowing 300 passing yards or fewer in 16 of 17 games played. The club also allowed the second-fewest completions (310), seventh-lowest completion percentage (61.4) and the eighth-fewest passing first downs (175) in the league.
Prior to entering the NFL, Shewmaker spent five years at the collegiate level, most recently with the University of Tennessee in 2020 as a defensive graduate assistant. He began his coaching career at the University of Alabama, serving as a defensive analyst (2019) and defensive assistant (2016-18) for the Crimson Tide.
While in Tuscaloosa, Shewmaker was part of a coaching staff that helped lead the team to a 52-5 (.912) regular-season record from 2016-19 and three consecutive College Football Playoff appearances (2016-18). The Crimson Tide captured the 2018 CFP National Championship after defeating University of Georgia, 26-23. He began his coaching career as a student defensive assistant at the University of Kentucky in 2015.
A native of Lexington, Ky., Isaac Shewmaker graduated from Alabama in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in education.
Defensive Quality Control 2023-25
Defensive Quality Control 2021-22
Defensive Graduate Assistant 2020
Defensive Assistant 2016-18
Student Defensive Assistant 2015
