If the national media would actually face reality, Denver Broncos Sean Payton would be the NFL's coach of the year in 2025.
There is obviously still time left in the season, but Sean Payton's Broncos did something that nobody else has been able to do since 2015: Take down the Kansas City Chiefs. For the first time since the Broncos won Super Bowl 50, someone other than the Chiefs will win the AFC West. And right now, the Broncos are in the driver's seat.
Sean Payton has come out of a one-year hiatus to lead the Denver Broncos back to prominence, ending a dynasty in the process. So it's a shame he likely won't be the NFL's Coach of the Year, a media-voted award.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton should be NFL Coach of the Year in 2025
There are a handful of reasons why Payton should be the NFL's Coach of the Year in 2025, but there are also a handful of reasons why it simply won't happen.
The NFL Coach of the Year award has become the "Coach Whose Team Overachieved the Most" award, and in many cases, that is justified. There are always feel-good stories around the league and coaches who take teams from worst to first. This year, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is probably going to be in that discussion as well as Liam Coen and Ben Johnson of the Jaguars and Bears, respectively.
It really is a shame the award is so clearly predetermined each year, because Payton is deserving.
Not only have the Broncos been way better than anyone expected since Payton took over, but they've been better than everyone expected with the largest dead cap hit for a single player in NFL history on the books. The Russell Wilson debacle was inherited by Payton, and he's brought the Broncos out of QB purgatory into the promised land.
Payton doesn't get nearly enough credit from the national media because not everyone in the national media likes him. He has some friends in the media, there's no question about it, but there are a lot of folks in the media who can't stand Payton because of all that transpired during his time with the Saints.
And because the NFL Coach of the Year award is an Associated Press award, there's simply no way he's going to be able to beat out coaches on teams that were terrible last year.
Which is a sad reality.
But we all know that Payton deserves his due credit. The Broncos' culture has shifted substantially since he took over, and they've been phenomenal this season, especially late in games. Payton has pulled all the right strings for this team, and should be a front-runner for this award.
Our guess is, sadly, he won't be.