The Denver Broncos have let Ejiro Evero walk from his contract with the team, and he wasted no time becoming defensive coordinator of Frank Reich’s new-look Carolina Panthers. With Vic Fangio officially a member of the Miami Dolphins coaching staff, could Sean Payton take a page straight out of Deion Sanders’ book and land a top transfer?
The new head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes has certainly made his mark on the NCAA football transfer portal, landing the biggest transfer class likely in the history of the sport. He has rejuvenated excitement in Boulder, similar to the way Sean Payton has helped revive excitement in the Mile High City. But now, the transfer portal may open up between the NCAA and the NFL, and this time we’re not talking about whatever NIL incentives Colorado has at its disposal, but Walmart money.
Mike Zimmer, the longtime Minnesota Vikings head coach, could be a candidate to join Sean Payton’s staff with the Denver Broncos. This idea was first presented to me on Twitter in the DMs, where all fun ideas happen these days, but has recently been given some legs by Albert Breer of SI.
Could Sean Payton steal Mike Zimmer from Deion Sanders’ CU staff?
"Good on Denver for letting Evero pursue other opportunities. It seems as if Seattle assistant Sean Desai, an old Vic Fangio disciple, is well-positioned for the Broncos job, but I’ve had multiple people wonder aloud to me if Payton might take a swing at luring Mike Zimmer, who he worked with in Dallas, over to Denver from Boulder, where Zimmer is working for Deion Sanders.Albert Breer"
At this point, nothing has been made “official” by Colorado regarding Mike Zimmer joining the Buffaloes football staff. The only thing we know is that Coach Prime has stated that Zimmer is “coming” and that obviously makes things a bit more fluid.
As we know, things can change on a dime regarding news and reports these days. You better get something in permanent ink before taking it to the bank when it comes to any rumors or reports.
The fact of the matter is, the Broncos and Sean Payton could offer Zimmer a lot more money to come to Denver than he’d likely get in Boulder. I don’t know any of this for a fact, but I think the Broncos and Sean Payton were very close to hiring Vic Fangio as their new defensive coordinator, and he made the choice to go to Miami instead, despite having an open mind about returning to the organization that just fired him a year ago.
Beyond Fangio, we’ve heard names like Brian Flores, Sean Desai, and Kris Richard thrown out there as potential options for the Denver Broncos going forward. But Mike Zimmer’s name is one to consider as well.
Considering how things went for him at the end of his time in Minnesota, Broncos fans might not be overly thrilled about him coming (yet Colorado fans are?) to Denver, but he would be a tremendous hire on that side of the ball. His Vikings teams were perhaps disappointing to many, but they played a tough and disciplined brand of football.
You can see where the Vikings ranked over his tenure with the team statistically here, and the figures are impressive.
7 players that could follow Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos
There are plenty of players around the NFL that could help the Denver Broncos and follow Sean Payton to the Mile High City in 2023.
What it seems like Sean Payton wants from his defensive coordinator, more than just about anything, is longevity and peace of mind. He wants to know that the defensive side of the ball is in capable hands, which is why I think we’re hearing names like Vic Fangio, Brian Flores, and Mike Zimmer pop up. Those guys are proven on that side of the ball and would be home run hires.