Sean Payton Has Turned His Second Chance Into a Broncos Success Story

Sean Payton has certainly made the most out of his second chance in Denver.

He’s led the Denver Broncos to the playoffs each of the last two seasons, including the No. 1 seed in the AFC last season.

Were it not for a freak Bo Nix ankle injury near the end of the Broncos’ divisional-round defeat of the Bills, he had a great chance to take Denver back to the Super Bowl this past season.

He was rewarded for that this week with a five-year contract extension that goes through the 2030 season.

Denver was down bad as a franchise when it hired Payton. After signing late-career Peyton Manning and winning Super Bowl 50 during the 2015 season, the Broncos had missed the playoffs seven straight seasons when they brought on Payton.

The Broncos also bet big on Payton. They sent a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick to the New Orleans Saints in order to land the coach.

A team that was on a run of six straight losing seasons bet big not on a quarterback or a star pass-rusher, but on a coach.

It was a bold move, but one that undeniably paid off as the Broncos are 32-19 in Payton’s three seasons. It has also shown the rest of the NFL the value of a good coach and the difference they can make in a locker room.

Mind you, Payton was not a normal coaching retread. There have been plenty of guys given a second -- or even third -- shot as an NFL head coach after they didn’t find much success in their first go-around.

Payton stepped away due to self-professed coaching burnout after a very successful 15-year tenure leading the Saints to nine playoff appearances and the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship. New Orleans never finished worse than 7-9 under Payton.

There was also the complicating factor of the Saints’ Bountygate scandal which led to him being suspended for the 2012 season after it was found his team ran an illegal scheme which paid out bounties to players who hurt opposing players.

That’s the part which makes the situation of Payton’s second chance with the Broncos a little sticky. A strong case can be made -- and I’m sure has been by some -- that his baggage may not have warranted the second chance.

But Payton did his penance, earned his way back and has certainly optimized his second chance.

With at least five more years in charge and the Broncos not likely to be leaving contention any time soon with a loaded defense and a young, productive quarterback, is it possible Payton is remembered as much for his time in Denver as for his time leading the Saints?

All he probably needs to make that true is a second ring.