Back in 2003, Sean Payton was the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Back in 2003, the team signed quarterback Tony Romo after he went undrafted. So naturally, when Payton joined Sean Walsh on Mile High Sports Radio, he was asked about the veteran quarterback.
“I know Tony from my experience when we were in Dallas and signing him. In ’03, there were a lot of teams calling Tony,” Payton said. “It just so happened that he had gone to the same college that I went to. I think, at the same time, that Mike Shanahan, who is a graduate of Eastern Illinois as well, was on the phone recruiting Tony.
“Fortunately, he was looking at the depth chart in Dallas and he made the decision to come there.”
Fortunately for the Cowboys and for Romo. 14 seasons later, it appears as if his time in Dallas is nearing its end. Payton was asked about whether or not the Broncos should be interested.
“Look, I have no idea if they [the Broncos] felt like or they feel like that’s something that they’re interested in or not,” he said. “He’s had a great career. What happens from here, I have no idea; but I think a lot of him. He’s someone that I’m able to stay in touch with. I think that time will tell as to what happens, but he’s a good football player.”
The Broncos already have two quarterbacks they are particularly fond of in Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch. Payton knows a thing or two about them both, and offered his two cents.
“Those are two young, talented players that I think any team would want to have on their roster.”
In the case of Siemian, Peyton got to witness him first-hand when the Broncos played his New Orleans Saints. He offered the following.
“He’s a guy that you can see plays with a lot of poise,” Payton said of Siemian. “I feel like there’s a command and a presence with him that a lot of people in the league probably weren’t as much aware of until they saw it on film or, in our case, up close, in person.”
In the case of Lynch, the Saints scouted him. Payton stated that he was “another player that had high grades” in their evaluation of him.
Listen to the full interview with Sean Payton, including what was going through his mind when Will Parks ran back a blocked extra point to lead the Broncos over the site, in the podcast below.
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