The Denver Broncos have hired Sean Payton as the next head coach of the team. Things are going to be vastly different now than they have been in recent years and there’s now a ton of pressure on Payton’s shoulders. But I’m sure he welcomes it, especially for the Denver Broncos’ price of admission (which we don’t know exactly, yet, but it will undoubtedly be unprecedented).
In less than a calendar year, a lot has gone down in Broncos Country, hasn’t it? The team hired Nathaniel Hackett, traded for Russell Wilson, got new ownership, signed Wilson to a mega-contract, fired Hackett, and has now hired former Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton. It’s been a truly bizarre time in Broncos Country but now that Payton is on board, we can safely say that many rumors and myths about this team, this particular job, have been debunked.
Let’s look at five common ones I have been coming across in recent months.
5 major myths about the Broncos that were debunked by Sean Payton hire
Myth no. 1: Coaches won’t want to work with Russell Wilson
Based on the way some people have talked about Russell Wilson since job became available, you would think the Denver Broncos had Antonio Brown under center these days. People have been talking about the Denver Broncos head coaching job as some kind of plague to be avoided because of Russell Wilson, who obviously didn’t play up to his — or anyone else’s — standards in 2022.
Wilson is coming off of the worst season of his career, and given the fact he signed a $245 million contract extension, the assumption from many people — in Broncos Country or otherwise — was that no “good” coaching candidates were going to want the Denver job over other openings.
People had convinced themselves and others that candidates like Sean Payton would rather have any other job besides the Denver job because of Russell Wilson. My stance on it from the start?
Money talks.
I guess we know now that there were some big-name coaches that wanted to work with Russ, or one, at least.
Myth no. 2: The ownership group was in over its head
The Broncos’ hiring committee was led by team CEO and owner Greg Penner. Penner was joined by the likes of Carrie Walton-Penner, Rob Walton, Condoleezza Rice, and general manager George Paton in this coaching search.
As the process seemingly dragged on for over a month, folks started to get restless and began really questioning Penner and the ownership group for whether or not they were struggling to find anyone who was really attracted to the job.
How about now?
Regardless of how you thought the process went, regardless of how smooth (or not) it actually was, the fact that the team has hired Sean Payton to be the next head coach has effectively debunked the myth that this ownership group was in over its head. They landed arguably the best candidate in the cycle, depending on who you ask.
The only real critique that I would have from the outside looking in at this coaching search would be how limited the team was in interviewing first-time candidates. It couldn’t have hurt to get perspectives from around the league on Russell Wilson and the offense, other coaches’ plans to potentially fix the offense, and all of that.
At the same time, we know that this team needed more experience, even if a first-year head coach was hired. Bringing in a veteran staff was likely going to be mandatory for any first-time head coach options, because the inexperience of Nathaniel Hackett’s staff as a whole ended up burning the franchise this past year.
At any rate, it doesn’t appear the Broncos’ ownership group was in over its head, not in the slightest. It may not have been as seamless as interviewing Payton, striking a trade, and getting the deal done, but Payton’s top priority in this process was stable ownership, and he chose Denver.
That speaks volumes.
Myth no. 3: The Broncos have no draft picks, how can they trade for Sean Payton?
Have you not heard that the Denver Broncos traded their 2023 first-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson?
This team has no draft capital! How can they trade for Sean Payton without a first-round pick?
These are statements that I had the privilege of reading daily over the last month or so from the lovely folks of Twitter and YouTube. I can’t begin to tell you how many people I had to inform that the Denver Broncos had made a trade during the season with the Miami Dolphins involving Bradley Chubb and a first-round pick.
Not many people messaged or commented back upon learning that bit of information.
Even before the trade, the Broncos had three picks in the first three rounds just like many teams. They own the Colts’ third-round pick thanks to a trade made last year during the NFL Draft.
Now, the Broncos do have less NFL Draft capital, but they also have two major spots on their team filled at head coach and quarterback. How that all works out? Well, those guys are being paid a lot of money to figure that out. We can now expect the Broncos to be quite active in free agency since they won’t have any picks in the first two rounds.
But we saw last year that waiting until the mid-60s isn’t so bad, right? The Broncos still have picks 68 and 69, which is nice.
Myth no. 4: Sean Payton isn’t going to want to work with George Paton
Alright, this was another thing I have heard a ton throughout this process. The thought regarding Sean Payton is that he wouldn’t want to work with an established general manager, which the Broncos obviously have in George Paton.
Paton may be on the hot seat going into 2023, but at the same time, the message from Greg Penner has been that Paton is someone he’s going to be relying heavily on. If Paton’s job is secure, it would seem that a guy like Sean Payton — who presumably wanted more roster control in this go-round as a head coach — would avoid a team like the Broncos, right?
Wrong.
People thought Payton would rather go to a team like the Cardinals who had moved on from both head coach and general manager this offseason, but that wasn’t the case. The Cardinals hired a GM of their own and that clearly wasn’t a sticking point for Payton with the Broncos.
As a matter of fact, we know George Paton is all about collaboration — perhaps these two can get along well. People act like Payton didn’t work with a GM in New Orleans where Mickey Loomis has been for the last two-plus decades.
It’s possible that Payton will want to bring someone like Ryan Pace along with him to work in the front office, but it’s also possible that he will simply hit it off with George Paton — one of the most respected executives in the league — and the two will have a good working relationship.
At this point in time, though, it’s clear that having the GM seat was not a sticking point for Payton, at least in the short term.
Myth no. 5: Nobody wants to coach against the rest of the AFC West
The AFC West includes arguably the best team in the NFL right now, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have arguably the league’s best coach in Andy Reid. They have the league’s best QB in Patrick Mahomes.
One of the common arguments people tried to have with me over the last couple of months is that nobody would want to coach in the AFC West because you’ve not only got to go up against Mahomes and the Chiefs, but also Justin Herbert.
That’s kind of funny, if you think about it, because of how many people assumed Payton’s top choice was to go to the Chargers.
Apparently, the people who are paid competitors aren’t afraid of competition. Who knew?
Last year, the same discussion was being had about the quarterback position. Why would any quarterback want to come play for the Broncos, they’ve got to go against Mahomes and Herbert twice a year!
The same thing was said in 2023 about the coaching search. Why would anybody want to coach the Broncos? They play in the AFC West!
Here we are, and Sean Payton has chosen the Denver Broncos as his destination. According to Peter Schrager, the Broncos are viewed as a “crown jewel” franchise by Payton, his colleague at FOX. It’s interesting how narratives can get twisted over time. The Broncos have had some hard times lately, but they are still the Denver Broncos.
Broncos who benefit most from the Sean Payton hire
On Tuesday, the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints made a deal for Sean Payton. Which players benefit the most from this hire?
This is one of the truly great franchises in the history of the NFL. It’s a desirable destination. And Sean Payton being hired has helped debunk many myths about the perception of the franchise by people in the league.