Very few NFL head coaches have had as much success with former players joining the coaching ranks in recent years as Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. Payton's former players and assistants are getting gigs all around the league, with Dan Campbell obviously doing a great job of leading the Detroit Lions and now Aaron Glenn leading the New York Jets.
The Payton coaching tree has grown and evolved tremendously through the years and he loves the proof of concept he has with former players. That is a huge reason why he wasted absolutely no time reaching out to recently retired former Dolphins and Saints left tackle Terron Armstead, one of the best left tackles in the NFL over the last decade-plus.
Armstead recently had an interview with Kay Adams on the Up and Adams show, and he revealed that Payton reached out to him shortly after retiring to offer him a job in Denver.
Seriously.
Sean Payton recruits Terron Armstead to join Denver Broncos staff
Terron Armstead to the BRONCOS???
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) April 9, 2025
pic.twitter.com/uZKMCCWhFf
Listening to Armstead in that interview, it sounds like he's more than open to the idea of working with Payton and the Broncos in some capacity. Of course, they don't need him to play left tackle after paying a bunch of money to Garett Bolles recently, but as a coach on the staff, it would be interesting to see.
Another former player on the Broncos coaching staff who generated some interest from other teams in the 2025 offseason was offensive line coach Zach Strief. Strief is one of the top assistants on Denver's staff and has done an awesome job of helping develop the guys they have on the roster. Perhaps Armstead would be a very well-compensated assistant for Strief.
Perhaps he would be an eventual replacement for Strief.
Nobody knows -- including Armstead -- what Payton has in mind, but the gears are turning. It would be fun to see Armstead in Denver since he's such an accomplished player, who would certainly command the respect of the guys on the roster. He can show a lot of up-and-coming guys how to maximize your value in the NFL, even as someone who was a mid-round pick and came from a small school to become a Pro Bowl regular.
Armstead spent nine years with the New Orleans Saints before finishing out the final three years of his career with the Miami Dolphins. With all that experience, he'd be able to bring a wealth of knowledge to the staff in really any capacity.