A few weeks ago, Sean Payton was believed to be one of the hottest head coach candidates available this cycle, with all five teams with openings lining up to interview him while knowing it would likely take trading several draft picks to potentially hire him.
More recently, demand for Payton seems to have cooled off. At the time of this writing, no team has scheduled a second interview with the former New Orleans Saints head coach.
Mike Klis of KUSA-TV reported on Thursday that Payton is still “in the mix” for the Denver job, but other reports have hinted that Payton is not the team’s top choice.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network said on Wednesday that he does not believe Payton will be hired by the Broncos, and he indicated that the coach might be leaning toward staying at Fox for another year.
Payton is also said to fear “a potential power struggle with a member of the ownership group” in Denver, according to Mark Maske of The Washington Post. These are the members of the Broncos’ ownership group, but it is unknown which individual member Maske was referencing.
For what it’s worth, Payton denied that report on Twitter.
Zero truth to this. We had a great visit and@Broncos Ownership was fantastic!! https://t.co/PU9dP50bSg
— Sean Payton (@SeanPayton) January 26, 2023
Nothing is official just yet, but speculation has increased in recent days that Payton won’t be hired by Denver — and perhaps not by any other team — this hiring cycle.
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