The last time NFL fans saw Sean Patrick Payton holding a clipboard on the sidelines was as the head coach of the 2021 New Orleans Saints. Payton, a Super Bowl champion and a Coach Of The Year winner, would guide the Saints to a 152-89 record before announcing his retirement at the end of the 2021 regular season.
Like the death of comic book characters and “loser leaves town matches” in professional wrestling, the word “retirement” in sports isn’t always a lock.
While the Miami Dolphins would be the first team to attempt to lure Payton out of his retirement just weeks after his announcement with a reported $100 million deal, it would be the Denver Broncos who would have success in bringing the longtime coach out of his short-term leave from the gridiron.
With a team hungry for their fourth Super Bowl title, Sean Payton is favored in the betting odds to be the 2023 NFL Coach of the Year. However, after a few consecutive defeats he saw the odds in ClutchBuzz sportsbook drop to +10000 to win Coach of the Year. Can he still come back?
Early Career
After playing in the Arena Football League and then a couple of stops for coffee in Ottawa (CFL) and Chicago (NFL), Payton would finish his short-lived professional playing career with the Leicester Panthers of the British American Football League.
While Payton’s professional on-field career would be limited, he would soon embark on a career on the sidelines that has lasted over three decades. Starting as an offensive assistant with the San Diego State Aztecs, Payton would spend time with four other NCAA Division I program (with a second stop in San Diego) over the span of nine years.
In 1997, the Philadelphia Eagles would provide Payton with his big break, hiring the former QB as their Quarterbacks Coach.
The path is clear for Sean Payton to become the next head coach of the Denver Broncos 🐴
Denver is sending a 2023 first-round pick and next year's second-round pick for Payton and the Saints' 2024 third-round pick, sources tell @AdamSchefter. pic.twitter.com/CMf19IpbVE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 31, 2023
New Orleans Saints
After leaving Philadelphia in 1998, Payton would find himself making stops in New York (Giants), and Dallas, holding various roles such as QB Coach, Offensive Coordinator, and Assistant Head Coach. In 2006 the New Orleans Saints offered Payton his first Head Coaching gig, assigning him the task of turning around a 3-13 team.
As to how much of their success could be pointed towards Payton, as opposed to a revamped lineup featuring new quarterback Drew Brees, super rookies running back Reggie Bush and wide receiver Marques Colston, and a healthy Deuce McAllister.
After finishing with the second-worst record in the entire NFL one year earlier, the Saints would find themselves finishing 10-6, good enough for first place in the NFC South and advancing to the NFC Championship Game against the Chicago Bears. The Saints’ turnaround would find Payton being honored with the 2007 AP NFL Coach of the Year award.
While Payton and the Saints would fail to make the playoffs for the next two seasons, it would be in just his fourth season as a head coach that he would guide his team to the top of the NFL mountain. With a 13-3 record, tops in their division, and tied for second-best in the entire league, the Saints would defeat the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV to win the franchise’s first championship banner.
Payton would finish his tenure with the Saints with seven more playoff appearances before calling it a career at the end of a 9-8 season in 2021.
Imagine calling yourself a "real" football fan and thinking Sean Payton shouldn't be Coach of the Year after what he's done with the #Saints this season. pic.twitter.com/yt6G8Y8EKU
— New Orleans Saints History (@SaintsHistory) January 7, 2022
Denver Broncos
On February 3, 2023, Payton would officially become the head coach of the Denver Broncos, a team that incredibly unachieved in 2022. Parting with three draft picks, including a 2023 first-rounder, a 2024 second-rounder, and a 2024 third-rounder, the Broncos believe that they have brought in a man who can turn around a team that many had higher expectations for.
While he will pull in approximately $18 million per season over the next five years, most people, including Payton himself, have expectations that he will turn the Broncos into a playoff team in his first season, the same way he did the Saints nearly twenty years ago.
Most sportsbooks and pundits have predicted the 2023 NFL Coach of the Year will come down to one of two men, Payton or Detroit Lions third-year coach Dan Cambell.
The first person that Payton has to get back on track is the former Super Bowl champion and nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson. One way Payton will be able to help Wilson bounce back is if he can get something out of a revamped offensive line that struggled mightily last season.
Sean Payton is (+2500) to win Coach of the Year 👀 pic.twitter.com/PLcJttLEFR
— PFF NFL Podcast (@PFFNFLPod) November 17, 2021
Final Thoughts
Payton will also have a number of defensive options on hand, including Zach Allen and Alex Singleton as the Broncos retained or brought in several new free agents and rookies to help stop the opposition from entering Denver’s red zone.
While it may take a couple of years to fairly grade the Broncos’ draft picks, the amount of money that the team spent on offensive and defensive upgrades and on a new coach puts the team in a “playoff or bust” situation. Ironically enough the 2007 Coach of the Year was something of the same position.
