The Denver Broncos hit a grand-slam when they brought Sean Payton in to be the head coach after years of dysfunctional coaching tenures. The team clearly needed to get more serious about this position, and while Denver had to trade for Payton, they actually ended up getting a draft pick back that turned into Riley Moss.
All things considered, the Broncos made the right move here. Denver is now set to host the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round, and it's the second year in a row that the team is in the playoffs, which is the first time that's happened since the 2014 and 2015 seasons. It's clearly been a successful rebuild, led by Sean Payton.
The team went from having a losing record in his first year to nearly doubling their win total two years later. Payton previously had a very successful tenure with the New Orleans Saints, which peaked in 2009 with a Super Bowl title. That game was played in February of 2010, and, now 16 years later, Payton has a chance to do something that no other head coach in the history of the NFL has ever done.
No head coach has won a Super Bowl with two different franchises - Sean Payton can become the first
Sean Payton has won 193 total games in the NFL, including the playoffs. In the regular season, Payton has gone 184-108, which is good for a .630 winning percentage. He's 32-19 as head coach of the Denver Broncos, including a 24-10 regular season record since the start of 2024.
One thing that does go against Payton in the regular season is his 9-9 record. Payton has won multiple games in the playoffs just one time, which was back in 2009. Outside of that 2009 run, Payton's teams are actually just 6-9 in the playoffs.
With that said, many head coaches who come through the NFL struggle to sniff the playoffs once, and in Payton's 18 years as a head coach, he's been in the postseason 11 times. Payton is fully aware of the legacy he can leave in the NFL, and he's not afraid to talk about these things. He could retire tomorrow and be a first-ballot Hall of Fame coach, but there is one clear motivating factor for him at play with the Denver Broncos.
Not only is it winning a second Super Bowl, but, connected to that is Payton wanting to prove to the NFL world that it just wasn't all Drew Brees in New Orleans, as some have previously argued.