Sean Payton is one of nine active head coaches who have won a Super Bowl in the NFL, joining Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, Mike McCarthy, Doug Pederson and Sean McVay.
Payton won his title when the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV following the 2009 season. Payton reached the playoffs eight other times in his 15 seasons with the Saints, including two trips to the NFC title game.
Payton knows what it takes to win it all in the NFL. Now he’ll aim to help the Denver Broncos return to Super Bowl contention after seven-straight years of missing the playoffs before his arrival.
“When it’s happened once — you ever do something that you are so excited after you’ve done it once, and you can’t wait to show somebody?” Payton said on June 13. “You see a movie, you go to a great restaurant, you got a great Christmas gift and it’s unbelievable and you just can’t wait for someone else [to see it]? That’s kind of like winning a championship.
“You are addicted to it. Last night being in that moment and watching [the Nuggets] enjoy it, there is just nothing like it. It’s borderline obsessive. After 2009, we had a number of close, tough playoff games — some big wins and tough losses. You want everyone that has not had that opportunity [to have it]. If I said to you to pretend you have a picture of what it is like, and then I said I want you to [multiply] it by 100,000, it’s even better than that.”
Payton helped the Saints turn into immediate contenders upon his arrival. After going 3-13 in 2005, New Orleans went 10-6 and won the NFC South in Payton’s first season in charge in 2006.
That doesn’t mean Payton will be able to instantly win the AFC West with Denver, but it might be a sign that he can help a team get back on track quickly. Eventually contending for a Super Bowl is the ultimate goal, but Broncos fans would probably be happy merely to return to the playoffs in 2023.
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