The Denver Broncos have hired their next head coach to lead the team going into 2023. Sean Payton will be responsible for helping turn the Broncos back into a winning franchise.
Denver Broncos hire Sean Payton as their next head coach
On Tuesday the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints as the team’s next head coach. Payton was the selection amongst various candidates that included Dan Quinn, Jim Harbaugh, Sean Payton, DeMeco Ryans, Raheem Morris, Ejiro Evero, Jim Caldwell, and David Shaw. The hiring committee consisted of CEO Greg Penner, General Manager George Paton, and ownership members including Condoleeza Rice.
The Broncos will send the Saints a 2023 first-round pick and an early pick in 2024 as first reported by Ian Rapoport.
The #Broncos will send a first-round pick in 2023 and early pick next year, sources say. The deal has been agreed to. https://t.co/Lw9O9MQV0k
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 31, 2023
Penner, in his first year controlling the team, has made his first coaching hire with the assistance of Paton who the Broncos CEO expressed he would lean ‘heavily’ on throughout the process. After firing Nathaniel Hackett just 15 games into his first season as the Broncos head coach, the Walton-Penner Family Ownership now has full control of the operational aspects of the team.
In Payton’s career as a head coach, he boasts a record of 152-89 which played a factor in the Broncos’ decision to hire him. The former Saints’ coach has also won a Super Bowl during his time with New Orleans. The Broncos organization needed a coach with a proven track record of winning games, and Payton exemplifies what they were looking for.
After a 5-12 team campaign in 2022, Payton will begin to assemble a staff around him that will help the Broncos restore the winning tradition that former late-owner Pat Bowlen envisioned for the franchise. Since 2016, the Broncos have had a 35-63 record and a bottom-ten offense throughout their current playoff drought. Payton will be tasked with helping transform the Broncos’ offense with quarterback Russell Wilson that was bottom-ranked in nearly every major statistical category in 2022.
More importantly, Denver has proven they can compete with teams inside the AFC West, but they have struggled with finding ways to finish. One benefit Sean Payton has coming into the Denver Broncos head coaching job is that he doesn’t necessarily have to worry about trying to transform the locker room culture of the team, which is already intact with Justin Simmons and Wilson solidifying themselves as key leaders. What Payton must change from a culture standpoint has everything to do with the on-field product.
