As Sean Payton begins to assemble his staff in Denver, the game of “who do you know?” becomes more and more important. With Ejiro Evero joining the Carolina Panthers, defensive assistants rumored to be available, and all of the big names Broncos’ offensive staff having already interviewed for other jobs and seemingly out the door, Sean Payton might just be starting from scratch.
He will need to fill some key spots. Who are some names that could join Payton in Denver? Well, here are five:
Mike Zimmer
Potential Fit: Defensive Coordinator, Assistant Head Coach
This one would be interesting, for a lot of reasons. Zimmer’s exit from the Twin Cities was, unceremonious, to say the least. After a run of top-tier defenses, Zimmer’s defense tailed off at his end. Losing Danielle Hunter for more than a year and a half of his final two, and having several key opt-outs during the pandemic year did not help, but regardless, Zimmer ended on a poor note in Minnesota.
Zimmer is currently slated to join Coach Prime’s staff at Boulder, but SI.com’s Albert Breer stated that it’s possible Sean Payton tries to lure Zimmer from the Buffs.
The connection to Payton from their time together in Dallas is an important one, as Payton could have a huge advantage in building his team through direct connections from multiple decades in coaching. While there hasn’t been any reported connection between the Broncos and Zimmer aside from speculation from Breer, anything is possible in Denver.