One of the most intriguing storylines of the 2024 NFL season, at least from the Denver Broncos' perspective, will be the return of head coach Sean Payton to New Orleans where he was the head coach of the Saints for 16 years. Apparently, the NFL thought it was a great storyline as well, because they are putting that matchup in primetime.
According to Jeff Duncan on Twitter/X, the Broncos will face off on the road against the New Orleans Saints in Week 7 of the 2024 season.
The Saints will play host to the Denver Broncos and Sean Payton on Thursday Night Football in Week 7.
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) May 15, 2024
So not only will Sean Payton be facing off against his former team in Week 7 of this coming season, but a wide variety of coaches and players currently on the Denver Broncos will be doing so as well. The return of Payton, however, is the most prominent storyline here because he was with the Saints from 2006-2021 and won a Super Bowl there.
Payton's time in New Orleans was a bit controversial at times and he was actually suspended by the NFL for an entire season due to the whole "Bountygate" scandal. But on the whole, Payton established himself as one of the best coaches in modern NFL history while he was with the Saints, and they were consistent contenders just about every year he was there.
While he was with the Saints, Payton won 63.1 percent of his regular season games as the head coach. They won nine playoff games including a Super Bowl in the 2008-09 season. Out of 15 seasons coached, Payton's teams were .500 or better 11 times, and they only finished 8-8 once. That means that 10 out of 15 seasons he was in New Orleans, they won 9 or more games. Astounding.
On top of that, Payton's only losing seasons in New Orleans were seven-win seasons. Even the "off" years in New Orleans were extremely competitive.
Payton should be received exceptionally well by the Saints fan base in his return there, but you never know what kind of reception to really expect.