Could the Denver Broncos enter the Sean Payton sweepstakes? They took the first step towards it by dismissing first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday, with two weeks left in the 2022 regular season. Hackett’s team looked frazzled and unprepared all year long, and an accomplished figure like the former New Orleans Saints head coach could be just what they need to right the ship and put wayward quarterback Russell Wilson in a position to win.
And, yes, the Broncos do have a first round pick to offer in 2023 despite having traded so many assets for Wilson. They sent pass rusher Bradley Chubb to the Miami Dolphins at the trade deadline in exchange for a 2023 first round selection coming back to them from the San Francisco 49ers (who sent it to Miami once upon a time while trading up for quarterback Trey Lance). Additionally, Denver owns its picks in the 2024 draft’s first, second, third, and fourth rounds. If they want to get involved, they can match almost any other offer.
Now, obviously a draft pick coming from a team in the playoffs (like the 49ers, whose pick is going to Denver) is not as appealing as a top-10 choice like what the Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers can offer. At the same time, Payton has a lot of control over the situation, and if he doesn’t want to go to Denver and try to rehabilitate Wilson’s career, he won’t have to. He can simply stay on hiatus and keep working in TV.
And Denver might not be the most appealing situation, especially if Payton is wanting to bring in ex-Broncos head coach Vic Fangio as his defensive coordinator. Fangio was fired less than a year ago after going 19-30 at Mile High, so many of the players on that roster and staff in the building know him well. That might be an awkward working situation for at least one or two of the parties involved.
If nothing else, it’s intriguing. We’ll see which other teams enter the hunt for a new head coach in just a few weeks and whether they end up on Payton’s radar. It’s a unique situation with him needing to clear any trade to a different team and his friendly dynamic with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis may impact trade talks — just how determined will Loomis be to wring everything they can out of his close friend’s new team? Hopefully the mandate to do right by the Saints trumps any impulse to do right by Payton.
