Report: Sean Payton heading to Denver after agreeing to to terms
The former New Orleans coach who won a Super Bowl back in 2009 has reached an agreement that will bring him out of retirement and back to the sidelines.
Sean Payton is on the verge of becoming a head football coach in the NFL again. The former New Orleans Saints head coach was waiting for a new opportunity after retiring at the end of the 2021 season after 15 seasons with the franchise.
It seems as though Payton has reached an agreement to become the new head coach of the Denver Broncos, according to a report by Adam Schefter, an ESPN insider.
If the deal goes down, the Broncos will have to give the Saints a first-round pick in the 2023 Draft (29th overall) and a second-round pick in 2024, in exchange for a third-round pick from the Saints in 2024. All this because Payton has a current contract with the New Orleans Saints until 2024.
There were other teams interested in Payton’s services but the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers were not as attractive to the Super Bowl winning coach as the team from the Mile High City.
There was also speculation that Payton could land with the Dallas Cowboys, but team owner Jerry Jones has been very supportive of coach Mike McCarthy after Dallas was eliminated in the Divisional Round by the San Francisco 49ers.
Payton’s resumé
Payton went 152-89 in the regular season with New Orleans in those 15 seasons and won the Super Bowl with the Saints in 2009.
The Broncos were one of the biggest disappointments of the 2022 season, finishing 5-12 in last place in the AFC West despite bringing in quarterback Russell Wilson, obtained in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.
Wilson signed a five-year, $245 million deal with the Broncos, but finished with just 16 touchdown passes in 2022, which marked the worst statistical year of his career.
Former Denver coach, Nathaniel Hackett was fired after 15 games after a disastrous debut season as an NFL head coach.