The Broncos fired outside linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite on Wednesday, the team confirmed to The Denver Post.

Wilhoite, 38, was accused late last month of punching a police officer in the departures lane at Denver International Airport.

“After thorough discussions as an organization, I met with Michael Wilhoite and informed him we have decided to part ways,” head coach Sean Payton said in a statement provided to The Post. “We recognize the serious nature of the allegations against him and believe this is the best course of action at this time.

“I appreciate Michael’s contributions to the Broncos and am confident he will move forward in a positive direction.”

Police say Wilhoite, who spent the past two seasons on Payton’s staff in Denver, left a vehicle unattended in the arrivals drop-off lane Feb. 23. A uniformed officer approached Wilhoite and told him he could not leave his vehicle unattended.

Wilhoite twice told the officer to, “Shut the (expletive) up,” according to an arrest affidavit. Wilhoite then approached the officer and “bumped his chest” into the officer, according to the affidavit. The officer shoved Wilhoite back and Wilhoite punched the officer in the face, police allege.

The officer fell to the ground and Wilhoite returned to his car, but, as he opened the door to get inside, the officer fired his Taser and struck Wilhoite near his left hip and side, police say. The Taser shocked him for a few seconds, then Wilhoite got into his car and drove away.

The officer had “visible injuries” on his knees, as well as jaw pain, according to the affidavit.

Wilhoite was charged with felony assault of an officer, misdemeanor obstructing an officer and criminal mischief. He is next scheduled to appear in court on March 10.

The incident happened the day before most of the Broncos’ staff and the rest of the league traveled to Indianapolis for the NFL combine. While there, Payton told reporters that the team was working through its own process in coordination with law enforcement and the league office.

Payton, a source told The Post, was considering moving Wilhoite to inside linebackers coach before Wilhoite’s arrest. There he would have replaced Greg Manusky, whom Payton fired after the 2024 season.

Wilhoite coached inside linebackers previously for the Los Angeles Chargers (2021-22) and before that worked for Payton in New Orleans as a special teams and defensive assistant in 2019 and 2020. He had been considered a rising name to know in the NFL.

Before Wilhoite got into coaching, the Kansas native had a long NFL playing career. He went undrafted out of Washburn in 2011 and played a year for the Omaha Nighthawks before catching on with the San Francisco 49ers. He ended up playing 2011-16 there and spent 2017 with the Seattle Seahawks before he made the jump to coaching.

Payton now must fill the inside and outside linebackers jobs along with tight ends and likely a couple of assistant position coaches. He’ll also likely move some titles around after passing game coordinator John Morton left to be Detroit’s offensive coordinator earlier in the offseason.

Broncos hire defensive assistant: Payton is adding former college assistant Brian Niedermeyer to the defensive side of the ball in a quality control-type role, sources confirmed to The Post.

Niedermeyer most recently had been named the head coach at Tuscaloosa County High School in Alabama, but has years of experience working as a high-level college assistant. The Broncos job will be the 36-year-old Niedermeyer’s first coaching stint in the NFL.

Niedermeyer spent time as a graduate assistant at both Alabama and Georgia before landing on staff at Tennessee in 2018. He coached tight ends there, then inside linebackers in 2021. He was fired as a wave of recruiting violations made their way through the school under then head coach Jeremy Pruitt, with the NCAA leveling allegations against Tennessee that implicated Niedermeyer as offering “impermissible recruiting inducements” to multiple student-athletes.

After receiving a five-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Niedermeyer coached at Florida high school powers St. Thomas Aquinas and IMG Academy before taking a job at Tuscaloosa County High. Earlier Wednesday, Tuscaloosa County High announced that Niedermeyer had “made the decision to step down from his position in order to accept an opportunity at a higher level.”

Payton has had extensive work to do on his coaching staff. He’s lost three coaches — special teams assistant Chris Banjo, passing game coordinator John Morton and tight ends coach Declan Doyle — to coordinator jobs with other teams.

“It’s part of the deal,” Payton said of the staff turnover last month at the NFL combine. “I’ve always said that you want to see your assistants do well. We tried to, if possible, promote from within and then in certain cases hire from outside if we have to. I’m happy for all of those guys, whether it is Declan, Johnny, Chris or (new New York Jets general manager and former Denver assistant general manager Darren Mougey).

“A lot of the time, it’s a byproduct from winning. I’m excited for their opportunities.”

Payton’s already formalized the hire of Darren Rizzi as his special teams coordinator and assistant head coach. Though he’s the lone coach to officially be announced as an addition to the staff, Payton indicated at the combine that he’s made headway in putting the rest of the group together.