Broncos expected to be super aggressive, Sean Payton a top target?
The Denver Broncos head coaching search is already underway, but the rumor mill hasn’t exactly been swirling since the team parted ways with Nathaniel Hackett. That’s not that big of a deal or super abnormal, by any means, because the regular season is not yet over. But the rumor mill was churning as of Sunday morning with a report from Adam Schefter on ESPN’s Sunday Morning Countdown.
Schefter had quite a bit to say regarding the approach the Denver Broncos’ new ownership is going to take with pursuing the next head coach of the team. Let’s examine everything he brought up on the broadcast…
Adam Schefter spills the beans on Broncos HC search; Sean Payton the top target?
Adam Schefter on ESPN says the "leading candidate out there for many people" for the Broncos HC job expected to be Sean Payton. Notes the process of getting him is going to be tough.
— Sayre Bedinger (@SayreBedinger) January 1, 2023
Broncos ownership "said to be ultra aggressive...money is not going to be an issue"
We have already discussed the fact that Sean Payton was the early betting favorite for some outlets to become the Denver Broncos’ next head coach. That was rather surprising considering how many fans and pundits have shared their opinions on the Denver coaching vacancy being one of the least desirable in the NFL due to Russell Wilson’s presence on the roster.
Time will tell if that’s actually the case.
Wilson wasn’t really mentioned at all in Schefter’s Sunday report on ESPN. As a matter of fact, the report centered around two things: The Denver Broncos’ perceived aggressiveness from the outside looking in as well as the price to get Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints.
It’s important to remember that the Saints still have the “rights” to coach Payton, who retired last offseason and is still under contract should he decide to unretire and get back into coaching. Schefter said the price to acquire Payton from the Saints — on top of whatever contract he might agree to — could cost at least a first-round pick based on the NFL’s (albeit short) history of coaches that have been traded.
The Broncos just so happen to have a first-round pick which was ironically acquired from the Miami Dolphins in the Bradley Chubb trade. Why is that ironic? Because the Dolphins had their own first-round pick stripped for tampering with Sean Payton.
They were going to pair up Payton with Tom Brady in South Beach, remember? Would have been something.
Now, Payton has to pivot his plans for the future while the Denver Broncos contemplate theirs. There are rumors swirling about whether or not this team is going to be heavy in on Sean Payton, Jim Harbaugh of Michigan, Dan Quinn of the Cowboys, and plenty of other candidates.
Broncos CEO Greg Penner is going to cast a wide net in this search but make no mistake — the Broncos are absolutely going to swing for the fences with this next hire, even if that means potentially giving up a first-round pick for the best candidate, should they decide that’s the case with Payton.