ENGLEWOOD, Colo — As Sean Payton frets over how to get more touchdowns from goal-to-go opportunities – “Our tight red zone was awful,’’ he said at season’s end – perhaps he should consider bringing back the weapon he created, The Human Swiss Army Knife.
Taysom Hill is the most versatile player in the NFL, has been since 2018 when he return kickoffs, one punt, blocked a punt, made six special teams tackle as a gunner, passed, rushed, received, blocked and fetched coffee or water for everyone from his head coach Payton to his offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. to quarterback Drew Brees to special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff.
Payton is now the Broncos’ head coach. Carmichael was the Saints’ top offensive coach from 2006, when he joined Payton’s first staff, until he was fired Tuesday by the Saints’ current head coach Dennis Allen. Brees retired from his sensational, 18-year career after his injury-plagued 2020 season. Westhoff retired after the 2018 season then came back to help Payton set up his first special teams unit with the Broncos this year.
Westhoff only committed to one year but so do most people in the NFL business. Perhaps, Westhoff can be enticed into a second year in Denver if Payton can figure out how to bring in their old friends Hill and Carmichael.
Granted, this is the proverbial putting the kicking tee before lacing up the shoulder pads. Hill remains property of the New Orleans Saints and has two years left on his contract. But because those two years are non-guaranteed at a rather substantial $10 million a year, he turns 34 before the start of the 2024 season and the Saints’ new offensive coordinator, whoever he will be, may not be familiar with how to incorporate such a multi-skilled, tweener-type threat, Hill could become available.
Understand, a Carmichael-Hill reunion with Payton in Denver is nothing more than follow-the-dot logic. But let the speculation begin. If somehow they do wind up in Broncoland, Carmichael and Hill would hardly be the first former Saints to migrate West. See coaches Joe Lombardi, Zach Strief, Declan Doyle, Joe Vitt, John Morton, Chris Banjo, Beau Lowery, Dan Dalrymple and Westhoff. See also players Adam Trautman, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Michael Burton, Wil Lutz, Chris Manhertz, Dwayne Washington, Tre’Quan Smith (practice squad), Tony Jones Jr. (cut) and Marquez Callaway (cut).
Hill was at his best as a passer in Payton’s final two years as the Saints’ head coach in 2020-21, throwing for better than 900 yards with 4 touchdowns in each season. As a runner and receiver, Hill had two of his best years after Payton left the program, as Carmichael often made him a “Wildcat” red-zone threat. Hill rushed for a combined 976 yards and 11 touchdowns the past two seasons and added a career-most 33 catches for 291 yards in 2023.
Despite, or because, there were no other players who compared to Hill, the Saints and his agent Jeffrey Nalley agreed on a precedent-setting, four-year, $40 million contract extension late in the 2021 season. A parting gift from Payton, perhaps.
Of the $10 million Hill is scheduled to make in 2024, $1.5 million becomes guaranteed on March 15. So the Saints will have to make a decision on whether to keep him by then. They could try to repeat what they did with Trautman last offseason – trade him to the Broncos with a reworked contract for less money. (The Broncos, remember, will be in a budget crunch in 2024 as they are expected to have either $35.4 million or – gulp! – $85 million in dead cap money following the expected release of Russell Wilson.)
The Saints could also release Hill, at which point the Broncos may become first in line of his potential free-agent bidders. Or New Orleans could keep Hill with its new offensive coordinator ordered to figure out how to use him.
As for Carmichael, the NFL industry had him automatically joining Payton’s staff the moment the former was let go two days ago by Allen. Carmichael is well-versed in the Payton offense, which is based on West Coast principles and heavy in various personnel packages. The only problem with bringing in Carmichael is Payton’s offensive staff is filled with Lombardi as offensive coordinator, Morton as passing game coordinator and Davis Webb as quarterbacks coach. Perhaps Payton can create an offensive senior advisory type position for Carmichael as he did for Vitt on defense and Westhoff on special teams.
Carmichael and Hill could be partial solutions to a Broncos’ offense Payton wasn’t satisfied with in 2023.
“We ended up kicking too many field goals,” Payton said.
Payton also added:
“Many of you have asked great questions about ‘Your offense, your offense,’’’ Payton said last week at his season-ending press conference. “Overall, we collectively – starting with me – it wasn’t good enough. We didn’t take advantage of enough field position opportunities in games. …
“I would say we have to be great with the details, and obviously, we weren’t good enough with the details if there were certain mistakes that were repeating themselves. That starts with the teaching, our coaching. Are we saying the right things? The 10-yard line and in sticks out. That’s unusual. That bothered me a lot. Those are four-point swings, really, if you kick a field goal instead of scoring a touchdown. …
“I’m sure as we go through this process, there are going to be a number of other things, but I think that I’m comfortable and far enough along doing this, that I can easily be swayed or moved. Even coaches. It’s one thing to be somewhere where everyone tells you what you want to hear, but the value of a coach that tells me sometimes what I need to hear, I appreciate.”
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