There will be no Sean Payton on Fox Sports next season, he has found a new place to coach. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Payton will be the Denver Broncos’ next head coach. The Broncos and Payton’s former team, the New Orleans Saints, finalized compensation.
The Saints will receive the Broncos’ 2023 first-round pick (No. 30 overall) and their 2024 second-round pick for Payton and the Saints’ 2024 third-round selection, according to ESPN, citing sources.
“This was the opportunity I was looking for,” Payton told NOLA.com.
Updated Feb. 3: It’s official. Sean Payton, who signed a five-year deal with the Broncos, is the franchise’s 19th head coach.
This comes after Denver reportedly tried to hire San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
However, Schefter said the timing was “coincidental.”
Did Schefty know?
It appeared Schefter may have known something yesterday, based on his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
Life post-Hackett
Following the disastrous Nathaniel Hackett season of 2022, Payton will have the honor of fixing one of the worst offenses in the NFL. He coached a short, aging Drew Brees so maybe that experience will help him get the best out of a declining Russell Wilson.
Because of that enormous $245 million dollar contract, the Broncos are stuck with Wilson long-term, even though at times he played so poorly in 2022 that he looked like he didn’t belong in the NFL. His dead cap hit doesn’t get under $30 million until 2017, so cutting him isn’t feasible for a while.
It is safe to assume that Payton will be handsomely compensated as well — after all, the Broncos ownership is the Walton-Penner (read: Walmart) family — but he is not jumping into a situation ready-made for a Super Bowl. The Broncos need fixing, so he had better bring his hard hat and lunch bucket.