Sean Payton should be on the hot seat after Broncos Week 5 loss

Sean Payton has coached his team to a 1-4 mark through five games in the 2023 NFL season. He should firmly be on the hot seat, regardless of all the hoopla surrounding the acquisition. Many of us were over the moon with the addition of Sean Payton earlier this offseason. Payton brought a Hall of Fame resume and an elite offensive mind over to Denver.

However, Payton's prior success should not carry over into Denver, and at this point, it's fair to wonder if Payton should be seen as being on the hot seat. In fact, he very much should be. Now, do I really think that Denver will cut ties with Payton after one year?

Well, I don't. Sean Payton also has GM authority in Denver, as far as we know. He's the de-fact roster builder of the Denver Broncos, and it's not like he's this first-time head coach/GM type of coach. He's done this before, so even though we shouldn't really hold onto his prior successes, something does have to be said about the success he has had in building juggernauts in New Orleans.

In Week 5, Denver suffered what is probably their worst loss in any game post-2015. This feels like the lowest of the low, doesn't it? Payton decided to run his mouth about the coaching job that Nathaniel Hackett did in 2022 when he was in Denver, and of course, those words went public.

Payton walked those comments back, but it instantly became bulletin board material, and I'm sure as we speak, the New York media is just driving those words into the ground, and I'm sure we won't hear the end of it. Sean Payton is a good head coach. That's a fact. What's also a fact is that George Paton, the decision-maker over the last two seasons, did a pretty poor job at building much of a defense.

That unit has talent issues at all three levels, and Paton holds all of the blame for that. Well, with Sean Payton making the wrong hire in Vance Joseph, the weaknesses on the defense have been revealed, and it's not pretty. The offense is still fine. Russell Wilson is still playing well, and had some nice plays in the second half in Week 5.

However, I do think Sean Payton's seat should be warm.