Sean Payton finalizing deal to become Broncos’ next head coach
The Broncos won the Sean Payton sweepstakes — but he may not have been their first choice.
Denver is sending its 2023 first-round pick (No. 29) and its 2024 second-round pick to the Saints for the Super Bowl winner to become their next head coach, according to multiple reports. The Broncos will also receive the Saints’ 2024 third-round pick.
“Great fan base. Great tradition,” Payton told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “The ownership group is fantastic, and I love the way they competed last year. It’s a great football city like we had in New Orleans.”
This comes with NFL Network also reporting that the Broncos made a last-ditch effort on Tuesday to hire 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans. Ryans, who will be the Texans’ next head coach, recommitted to Houston and then Denver moved on to finalizing a deal to bring in Payton.
Denver needed to come up with compensation for Payton because he had signed a contract extension with New Orleans in 2019 that ran through 2024. The Broncos had already traded away their 2023 first-round pick in the deal for quarterback Russell Wilson, but are sending New Orleans the selection they acquired from the Dolphins in a deal for Bradley Chubb last season.
Payton, 59, will be asked to turn around a Broncos team that went 5-12 in 2022 and saw Wilson struggle mightily in his first year in Denver. Payton is expected to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid head coaches.
Payton took a year off from coaching after the 2021 season with the Saints, spending 2022 working as an analyst for Fox Sports. He has a 152-89 career record in the regular season, reached the postseason nine times and won the Super Bowl in 2010. Payton coached New Orleans from 2006-2021, missing the 2012 season when he was suspended for his role in Bountygate
He replaces Nathaniel Hackett, who was fired 15 games into his first season as head coach and has since become the Jets’ offensive coordinator. Payton also interviewed with the Panthers, Colts, Cardinals and Texans. The Panthers hired Frank Reich.
The Broncos were supposed to be a playoff team this season but saw their offense ranked last in points per game at 16.9 and 21st in yards per game at 325 — missing the postseason for a seventh consecutive year.
Payton has been an offensive guru during his career and was able to get the most out of aging Drew Brees during the final seasons of his career. Denver is likely hoping for him to do the same with Wilson, who signed a seven-year, $296 million deal in 2022 after being traded from Seattle. Wilson finished with a career-low 16 touchdowns and was sacked a career-high 55 times.
Payton was one of eight candidates who interviewed with the Broncos, including Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, Cowboys defense coordinator Dan Quinn, former Lions coach Jim Caldwell, ex-Buccaneers headman Raheem Morris and former Stanford coach David Shaw. Team owner and CEO Greg Penner led the search with assistance from limited partner Condoleezza Rice and general manager George Paton.