On Monday, Bleacher Report released an article detailing the five worst moves of the 2023 offseason thus far, and they had a wildly uneducated take about the Broncos and Sean Payton. When I originally read this piece, I nearly fell out of my chair.
The article details the five worst moves of the 2023 NFL offseason thus far, and they have the Denver Broncos trading for Sean Payton ranked as the fourth worst move of 2023. What are we even doing here? This was an insane blurb to read for a plethora of reasons.
Here is the excerpt from author Alex Ballentine:
"Good decisions rarely come from a place of desperation. After watching Nathaniel Hackett attempt to coach the Denver Broncos last season, the trade for Sean Payton feels like an overcorrection. Payton was the most accomplished head coach available, but the Broncos paid a steep price. Because Payton was still under contract with the Saints, they had to trade a first-round pick this season (No. 29 overall) and a 2024 second-round pick for Payton and a 2024 third-round pick. Peter King of NBC Sports reported Payton's Broncos contract is for five years and worth around $18 million per year. That doesn't count toward the salary cap, so they don't get dinged for that, but it's a huge investment for a coach who doesn't guarantee success. Payton is a good coach. He's won a Super Bowl and boasts a 161–97 record for his career. But there are a lot of disappointing Saints seasons mixed in there with a prime Drew Brees. For instance, the Saints went 7-9 for three consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2016. With a year off to recharge, Payton could be just what the Broncos need. But there's also a chance that Russell Wilson is cooked and there's a rebuild right around the corner. If that's the case, they just gave up precious draft capital for a head coach who is more suited for a readymade team to contend."Alex Ballentine
Firstly, he notes that trading for Payton was an overcorrection after the team had fired Nathaniel Hackett. I'm sorry, how is it an overcorrection trading for a Super Bowl-winning head coach who has won over 150 regular season games and features a winning record in the playoffs? Payton is one of just a select few coaches in the history of the league to have won as much as he has in the regular season and a Super Bowl title.
He also notes that there are "a lot of disappointing Saints seasons mixed in there..." Well, of his 15 years as a head coach in the NFL, he had just four losing seasons and nine seasons of double-digit wins. How on earth would that be considered "a lot of disappointing Saints seasons"? Furthermore, he made the playoffs in nine of his 15 seasons as head coach, accumulating a 9-8 postseason record.
He also makes an argument that has absolutely no correlation to the Sean Payton trade. He notes that Russell Wilson could be "cooked" and that the team might have to rebuild. Well, how does that make the Broncos trading for Payton a bad move? If anything, Sean Payton is one of a handful of coaches I'd want on my favorite team if my club needed a rebuild.
This article from B/R is filled with a bunch of nonsense, to say the least.