ENGLEWOOD, Colo — There was a point this offseason, maybe only for a few hours, when the coaching matchup this Sunday could have been flipped.
How much of a chance we’ll never know but before Sean Payton became head coach of the Denver Broncos, he interviewed for the same job with the Houston Texans. And before DeMeco Ryans became head coach of the Texans, he interviewed for the same position with the Broncos.
It was a time when New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis was asking for two first-round draft picks and two second-round selections in exchange for Payton, who prior to taking a year away from coaching last season had been the Saints’ head coach for 15 years.
Because the Broncos had already given up two first-round and two second-round draft picks a year earlier in a trade for quarterback Russell Wilson, they couldn’t afford to meet the Saints’ demands.
Had it not been for the draft compensation involved, Payton was the top choice for Broncos’ owner Greg Penner. He made the most sense because of his offensive acumen. As coach, game planner and play caller, Payton was the most logical antidote for the slumping Wilson, whom the Broncos were still heavily invested. But the draft compensation Loomis was seeking was prohibitive.
On Thursday morning, Jan. 26, 9NEWS reported Ryans had emerged as a top candidate for the Broncos’ head coaching job. By Thursday evening, Ryans had let it be known he was instead leaning toward Houston, his wife’s hometown and where he played as a middle linebacker the first six seasons of his playing career. Simultaneously, Penner was working on securing Payton by having Denver general manager George Paton work on getting Loomis to lower his compensation demand.
It all worked out. The Saints wound up getting two of each, but one first-round pick in 2023 and a second-round pick in 2024 while the Broncos received Payton and a third-round pick in next year’s draft.
The Broncos and Texans meet this Sunday (11 a.m. kickoff) in a battle of 6-5, playoff-contending teams at NRG Stadium where the retractable roof figures to be closed because of heavy rains in the area. A coaching bragging rights game?
“I don’t think so,’’ Payton said in an interview with 9NEWS for the Broncos Huddle (6:30 tonight, 9NEWS). “Both teams are 6-5. I think DeMeco is probably approaching this the same way we are -- we want to get our 7th win. These games down the stretch are important. Until you just brought that up, I think that’s the furthest thing from our minds as we prepare. We’re looking at getting our 7th win. That’s really what’s most important.’’
Ryans is currently the favorite for NFL Coach of the Year as the Texans were 3-14 last season and are starting a rookie quarterback this year, albeit a fine one in C.J. Stroud. But a case can be made Payton has been more impressive as he resurrected a broken veteran quarterback in Wilson while turning last year’s 5-12 Broncos - who started 1-5 this season with one loss by 50 to Miami -- into one carrying a five-game winning streak into Sunday.
Again, Payton brushed off the comparisons.
“DeMeco, he was playing at Houston, we had a lot of joint practices had a fabulous career and I’ve got a ton of respect for him,’’ Payton said. “I just think it’s about the game, and the two teams, and they’re both sitting in the AFC at 6-5, there’s a lot at stake.”
Before talking about the game ahead, Payton was asked about two events early in the Broncos’ previous game, a 29-12 win against the Cleveland Browns. The Broncos for their first offensive play started receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and David Sills (who was called up from the practice squad for the game), tight end Chris Manhertz and fullback Michael Burton. Four backups.
It was a running play. And just one play. Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and Adam Trautman, the regular starters, came in for the second play. Trautman and Sutton pretty much played the rest of the game.
Was the unique starting lineup partly to reward the backups? You know, emphasize the all-for-one, one-for-all team mentality?
“Funny you say that, I wouldn’t have even known … I’d like to say the answer is, yes, but the answer is really more what we wanted to run scheme-wise,’’ Payton said. “First play was a toss play, a crack play that we wanted to run towards their defensive end. It wasn’t at all, ‘I’m going to give you guys this first play.’ That’s who's had to work at it all week.
“It’s different than the old starting lineup where you say, here they are. We were in 31 different personnel groupings the other day. And so it could have been a different play on play 1 and it would have been a whole different cast of characters.”
A play later, it’s third and 10 and Wilson throws a deep ball to Sutton. It’s incomplete, three and out, Broncos have to punt. But hold on. A flag is thrown and Cleveland cornerback Greg Newsome II was called for defensive pass interference. It’s one of those plays that’s not always flagged, but this was one was. It was a 34-yard penalty and the Broncos went on to finish the drive with a touchdown. A huge play in a game that was 14-12 Broncos early in the fourth quarter.
It was put to Payton: In today’s NFL, where so many rules favor the offense, why not a go-route ball on every third and long when it seems like the play gets the P.I. call as often as not?
“Look, we could leave the third-down meeting tonight at 8 o’clock if we said we’re going to just chuck it down the field on third and long,’’ Payton said. “But there is something to be said on a go route where we’re going to challenge the corners and we wanted to do that early in the game. We made a good throw. Courtland does a good job, I mean he has another catch on a similar pattern they call OPI (offensive pass interference) which was difficult and he did a great job keeping his feet in bounds. So you want to stretch the defense occasionally and he’s someone who comes down with the ball a lot.’’
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports