The Denver Broncos were never going to have an easy way to salvage Russell Wilson. After the abject disaster that was the 2022 season — following a blockbuster trade for the veteran QB selling much of the farm — it would’ve likely been hard to find anyone willing to take on this mess of a project.
At the very least, Sean Payton gets the chance to try and make up for Mile High’s past wrongs.
On Tuesday, the Broncos made their hire of Payton official. The high-profile former New Orleans Saints head coach, who won over 150 games, helped turn an injured Drew Brees into a future First-Ballot Hall of Famer, and brought a Super Bowl to a perennially downtrodden franchise, will now take on an even bigger challenge: fixing a 34-year-old, potentially washed-up Russell Wilson.
The best of luck to you, sir.
Breaking: Saints and Broncos are finalizing compensation in return for Super Bowl-winning HC Sean Payton, sources tell ESPN. This clears the way for Payton to sign with the Broncos to become Denver’s next head coach.
And so Payton is expected to head to Denver as its next HC. pic.twitter.com/HA4RAtE6P8
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 31, 2023
The Broncos didn’t have much of a choice here. If they couldn’t lure Payton out of FOX’s television studios, it felt improbable that any of the less established, young names available (DeMeco Ryans, Shane Steichen, Eric Bienemy) would put their reputations on the line for a QB who looked done in his first season on the Colorado Front Range.
From the moment Denver fired the bumbling Nathaniel Hackett, who inarguably played a considerable role in Wilson’s demise, it was the entrenched Payton or bust. And so, with their backs up against the wall in the dark alley of a long-term future tied to Wilson’s exploits (for better or worse), the Broncos and their Walmart money had to pony up their wallet for Payton. If they didn’t double down on what resembles a historically awful trade for Wilson, there was no other recourse.
There’s an entirely feasible reality where no other hot coaching would’ve stuck their necks out for a past-his-prime veteran quarterback who might not be able to elevate a team anymore. Payton was, in essence, the only logical option.
Compensation: Denver’s 2023 first-round pick and next year’s second-round pick for Sean Payton and the Saints’ 2024 third.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 31, 2023
With Payton officially headed to Denver, he doesn’t really need to worry about the Broncos’ present grim situation blowing up in his face. The man’s rap sheet speaks for itself. If Wilson doesn’t return to form, if Denver falls short of its grand ambitions, Payton probably has a cushy media gig waiting for him like a soft mattress outside of a burning two-story walk-up. Not to mention he’ll likely have a lot of say in roster construction and a handsome paycheck to walk away with.
That’s the benefit of being a proven coach with a championship on your resume — you can only fail upward.
Nonetheless, hoo boy, Payton has his work cut out for him. Of all the potential names the Broncos could have hired, he also might have been the only realistic option capable of piecing Denver’s mess back together.
When it comes to issues to address, many of which are still connected to Wilson himself, Payton’s immediate responsibilities resemble more of a laundry list:
- Repair a QB who just enjoyed the worst statistical season of his career and who might not be able to challenge defenses downfield anymore consistently.
- Rebuild an offensive line that let Wilson get sacked 63 times and knocked down in 62 other instances.
- Repair a frustrated locker room, with potentially disgruntled core offensive pieces like Jerry Jeudy and a stellar defense that just watched Wilson waste a top-10 campaign.
- Dial back Wilson’s corniness, especially after poor efforts, which will still happen even if he plays well regularly again (I’m kidding, but well, Item 3 is definitely connected to this).
To nip these problems in the bud in one offseason would be a remarkable clean-up effort by Payton. That’s why the expectation of simply getting Wilson comfortable again should be what Payton centers most of his energy on for the time being. Asking more out of the coach would only divert his focus away from what’s most essential in his new endeavor. Because in this respect, the other glaring flaws won’t snowball if the formerly elite passer can play at an elite level again.
Great QB play will usually sand over more than one can fathom. Given his New Orleans experiences, Payton understands this fact better than most.
For a hefty price, Sean Payton is joining the Broncos to wring out what he can from an aging Russell Wilson. If the offensive guru can’t successfully climb this 14,000,000-plus foot summit, there might not be another person in the league who can or who would even want to try.
