The Denver Broncos made an enormous swing to land the nineteenth head coach in franchise historical past, because the group agreed to trade terms with the New Orleans Saints with the intention to signal Sean Payton. The Broncos will commerce their 2023 first-round decide and their 2024 second-round decide for Payton and the Saints’ 2024 third-round decide. Payton additionally figures to be paid among the many prime NFL coaches together with his new group.
Touchdown Payton put an finish to a head teaching search that was targeted on star-caliber names all through the method. Unable to lure Jim Harbaugh from Michigan, the 59-year-old Payton was an costly fallback possibility. It’s clear the brand new Broncos possession goes all-in to repair quarterback Russell Wilson after his dismal 2022 season.
Broncos Rent Head Coach Sean Payton
Payton stepped away from the Saints after the 2021 season, citing the necessity for change after enduring his first yr with out quarterback Drew Brees since each arrived in New Orleans in 2006. Payton had a profitable tenure, successful 152 common season video games and dropping solely 89. He propelled the Saints to a Tremendous Bowl victory in 2009.
Identified finest as an offensive innovator, Payton helped carry relevance to a group that had desperately fallen in need of mediocrity for a lot of its existence. He completed no worse than 7-9 in any of his 15 years with Brees. After struggling to construct a good protection for a lot of his tenure in New Orleans, Payton lastly had three straight years with a top-11 scoring unit in his remaining three seasons.
The Broncos are hoping for Payton to select up the place he left off in New Orleans and revitalize Denver’s personal getting older quarterback. The Broncos provide Payton a proficient protection that completed seventh in yards allowed and 14th in factors allowed. However the offense was useless final in factors and clearly sandbagged an amazing defensive unit that was led by coordinator Ejiro Evero.
Rebuilding Wilson will finally outline Payton’s legacy in Denver. The 34-year-old QB was terrible final yr after the franchise traded three gamers, two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and a fifth-round decide for Wilson and a fourth-round decide. They compounded the error by hiring Nathaniel Hackett as head coach and lengthening Wilson with an enormous five-year, $242.5 million deal that may’t be fairly shed till after the 2024 season.
MORE: Texans Hire DeMeco Ryans
Earlier than Tuesday’s breaking commerce information, it had appeared as if Payton did not earn a head teaching provide this offseason. He had interviewed with each group with a gap, together with the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Indianapolis Colts. However he hadn’t interviewed once more with the Broncos, and the thrill round him had died.
Was Payton merely chasing an enormous payday from the Broncos’ deep-pocketed new homeowners, or does he actually imagine Wilson is fixable? We’ll discover out whether or not Wilson can get again to a good stage of play shortly in 2023, because the group certainly expects to compete within the loaded AFC. As a part of the commerce bundle to safe Payton, Denver despatched the first-round decide they acquired from the Miami Dolphins for Bradley Chubb on the NFL commerce deadline, plus their very own second-round decide.
Touchdown a Tremendous Bowl-winning head coach is all the time notable, even with the heavy draft-pick price. A minimum of the group shrewdly moved Chubb for a excessive return, so the deal isn’t backbreaking if you happen to contemplate it as reassigning the decide.
The Saints actually profit from the deal contemplating Payton wasn’t going to educate underneath Mickey Loomis’ reign any longer. Getting two early-round picks for him whereas the group retools its roster is a coup.
