Denver Broncos reportedly have first finalist for the head coach position

We knew from the beginning that the Denver Broncos wanted to take a “big swing” with their next head coach hire and they have certainly done so with their group of candidates. Among the top options to become the next head coach of the team is former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. Payton has spent this season working for FOX doing the TV gig, but he’s ready to get back into coaching.

He is now the first reported “finalist” for the Denver Broncos head coaching job as the Broncos entered this week expected to pick 1-3 candidates for a potential second round of interviews. According to multiple reports, it looks like Sean Payton has a second interview scheduled in Denver for Wednesday…or is he?

Sean Payton the first known Denver Broncos HC finalist?

According to the report from Jeff Duncan of Nola.com, the Broncos will be interviewing Payton for a second time on Wednesday in Denver. According to previous reports, the second round of interviews will not include general manager George Paton or other members of the ownership group besides Rob Walton, team CEO Greg Penner, and Carrie Walton-Penner.

At this point in time, there’s no reason to think that Payton is the only one the Broncos are zeroing in on but a lot of the rumors we’ve been hearing in recent days seem to point to him being the top candidate. Frankly, very little has leaked from the Broncos’ side of things, so we’re really only hearing what has leaked from Payton’s camp and the process has been pretty transparent from his end.

It’s not overly well-known how the interviews with Dan Quinn of the Cowboys or DeMeco Ryans of the 49ers went right now. We know that David Shaw impressed the ownership group a ton and might be one of the second interview candidates. We know that recently, Jerry Rosburg made his case to become the full-time head coach.

But for now, it’s Payton who seems to be the apple of the Broncos’ collective eye. He’s one of the winningest coaches in history. He knows how to build and call an offense for a variety of different quarterbacks. It’s interesting that Payton gets no credit for elevating Drew Brees, just criticized for “only” winning one Super Bowl with a Hall of Fame quarterback.

But Payton did help elevate Brees, as well as a lot of skill players they developed over a stretch of 15 years in New Orleans where they won 11 out of every 17 games that Payton coached. Where they had 12 top-10 scoring offenses. Where six times his offense ranked no. 1 in the NFL in yards. Where quarterbacks like Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston, and even Taysom Hill had extended success as the starting QBs.

Sean Payton is a good coach, and he’s going to come at a good coach price if the Broncos are to hire him. He could cost upwards of $20-25 million per season in addition to costing the Denver Broncos draft capital. Why that’s a deal-breaker for some, I’ll never know. Do you want a good coach or do you want to have your cake and eat it, too?

Before Payton meets with the Broncos on Wednesday, he will officially have his interview with the Carolina Panthers on Monday after it was delayed due to tragic circumstances over the weekend.

Of course, all of these situations are fluid. There is a conflicting report about whether Payton’s interview is scheduled at all…

Who knows what’s going on, but the report of Payton meeting with the Broncos on Wednesday was quote tweeted by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and then stated by multiple other reputable NFL reporters.

Payton isn’t likely to be the only finalist in this process, and nobody should have expected him to be. The Broncos seem to understand that whoever they hire will be the first big domino to fall in this year’s coaching cycle.

I’m writing this as news is coming out in real-time. If you’re confused, you’re not alone. What’s been reported by the New Orleans guy — Jeff Duncan — and was endorsed by one of the most reliable NFL guys — Ian Rapoport — has seemingly been disputed by the Denver guy — Mike Klis, who gets his information directly from the team.

It seems like the Broncos are trying to make sure it doesn’t seem like Payton is the leader in the clubhouse because they still want other candidates atop their list to have interest in a second interview. To know they are in the race.

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Ultimately, it seems like we’re all more confused after this string of reports.