Broncos fans can only laugh at worst Sean Payton ranking yet

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is certainly a polarizing figure for many in the football world. There are people who feel he's overrated as a head coach because of the time he spent with Drew Brees (which is hysterical on its own). There are people who dislike him because of "Bountygate". There are people who don't like how crass Payton can be. There are actually people who criticize the guy for "only" winning one Super Bowl while he was with the Saints.

For a coach who has barely had any losing seasons and has had some of the best teams in the league through multiple major transition phases of the NFL as we know it, the criticism has certainly been harsh. But there is a reason beyond just the foul taste Nathaniel Hackett left in the mouths of new Denver Broncos ownership that Payton is not only one of the highest-paid coaches in all of football but was also worth the price of multiple high draft selections to acquire.

The evidence of just how good Payton is as a head coach is right in front of all our faces. The Denver Broncos were an absolute disgrace in 2022, and Payton was left picking up the pieces. He took a team that won just five games and fired a rookie head coach in the middle of his first season and had the Broncos within one game of the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs into the month of December.

As in, one game out of first place in the division.

Payton is a heck of a head coach, and you'd have a really hard time convincing me of anything otherwise. Not only is he a great head coach, but Payton is also one of the best offensive minds of our time. Even those who hate the New Orleans Saints can acknowledge that. Payton has been one of the best throughout his entire time in the NFL. This is a guy who won nine games with the combination of Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, Ian Book, and Taysom Hill at quarterback in 2021.

With all of that preaching out of the way, I simply can't fathom how actual NFL writers can compile lists of all 32 NFL head coaches and be willing to embarrass themselves by having Payton as low as they do sometimes. This latest one from CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin has to be the worst one I've seen yet.

CBS Sports puts Sean Payton embarrassingly low in recent head coach rankings

"18. Sean Payton (Broncos): There might not be a tougher coach to place, perhaps because Payton's become so polarizing. Once the vaunted leader of a hyper-efficient New Orleans Saints contender, he's managed a single playoff victory in his last four years as a head coach, and now he's resetting the table in Denver, likely with a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix."

- Cody Benjamin, CBS Sports

So, Sean Payton is barely an average head coach in today's NFL according to this list. He's below the middle of the pack. The list overall has a ton of flaws, including Todd Bowles -- whose team just won the division in year one without Tom Brady, as well as a playoff game vs. the reigning NFC champion Eagles -- ranked 22nd overall. I am once again begging for ball knowers to make these lists.

The 2024 season will be a pivotal one for Payton in terms of his overall reputation but these are also uncharted waters for him. He hasn't ever drafted and developed his own first-round quarterback. And it seem Payton is embracing this new era with a lot of joy.

I guess there's nothing wrong with a little more bulletin board material at this point.