ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Broncos owner Greg Penner and general manager George Paton would never put it this way, but their actions say the Broncos’ downfall last year was more related to the coach than the quarterback.
The coach, Nathaniel Hackett, had never had a head job before. The quarterback, Russell Wilson, had been a proven winner in nine of his previous 10 seasons in Seattle.
So the Broncos’ enormously disappointing 5-12 season in 2022 had to be Hackett’s fault, right?
Never mind that it was easier for the Broncos’ organization to move on from the final three years of Hackett’s contract, at between $12 million to $15 million and counts nothing against the salary cap, than it was from the next three years of Wilson’s deal, which has guarantees for a combined $104 million in cash and $124 million in cap dollars.
Hackett was fired before completing his first disastrous season, while Sean Payton, speaking of nice contracts, was brought in to replace him.
Which leads the 9NEWS summer series on the Broncos to this:
No. 4: Can Sean Payton make an immediate difference?
In 2005, the New Orleans Saints under head coach Jim Haslett were 3-13.
In 2006, the Saints under brand new head coach Sean Payton went 10-6 to win the NFC South Division, earn a first-round playoff bye and win a second-round division game before losing in the NFC Championship Game.
Granted, Haslett’s quarterback was Aaron Brooks while Payton joined the Saints at the same time Drew Brees became their quarterback.
But Brees was the Saints’ quarterback in 2012, when New Orleans fell to 7-9 as Payton served a full-season suspension for his alleged role in Bountygate.
In 2013, Payton returned, and the Saints and Brees went 11-5 and won a first-round wild card game before losing to Marshawn Lynch’s Seattle Seahawks (Russell Wilson was but 9 of 18 for 103 yards; Lynch rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns) in a second-round division playoff game.
So yes, history says Payton can immediately lead the Broncos to not only their first winning season in seven years but their first playoff appearance in eight.
“Sean is obviously one of the best coaches in modern-era football,’’ said new Broncos’ tight end Adam Trautman, who played for Payton in New Orleans in 2020-21. “He’s an offensive genius. What always impressed me most about Sean was attention to detail. He leaves absolutely zero stones unturned related to game day. It is so impressive. He knows how to tap into his players. Players respect the hell out of him. He takes care of the guys with recovery and everything like that. But we also get after it. Sean’s that mix of old school-new school.”
After 15 mostly successful seasons with the Saints, Payton stepped away from coaching last year while getting his NFL fix as a network studio host on game days.
He sought a return to the NFL as head coach for a team other than the Saints this year. Penner paid a pretty dollar, and Paton gave up two more top-round draft picks, to get him.
After the extraordinary hype for Wilson last year turned into a spectacular disappointment, Broncos Country has understandably taken a show-me-first attitude to Payton’s arrival.
But some coaches like Bill Parcells and Dan Reeves had a knack for turning teams around and turning them around quickly, and it would be a surprise if Payton doesn’t dramatically improve the Broncos in 2023.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports