Broncos Insider Shares Intriguing Sean Payton Rumor
A number of NFL teams had reportedly been interested in the services of Sean Payton, the former New Orleans Saints head coach who may be interested in returning to the sidelines for the 2023 season.
However, his options have quickly dwindled, which has led one NFL insider to speculate that perhaps Payton won’t be returning to coaching after all.
From everything I’ve heard it doesn’t appear Sean Payton has much of a market.
Jobs he wanted didn’t open, and outside of Denver (we’ll see about AZ) there just hasn’t been much interest.
Strong possibility he goes back to TV.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) January 24, 2023
The Denver Broncos has been the organization most linked to Payton in recent weeks, and it has been for good reason.
They came into this season having traded for future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson and were expecting to contend for a Super Bowl, but instead they gradually came apart at the seams from day one.
Denver had a historically bad offense that was awful to watch, while Wilson had, by far, the worst season of his career.
He looked somewhat better late in the season, especially in Week 18’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers, which has sparked a bit of hope that perhaps he’ll return to form next season.
The Arizona Cardinals have also been reportedly interested in Payton, but with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins expected to be traded, they don’t look like an attractive destination.
Another team linked to Payton has been the Los Angeles Chargers, who staged an epic collapse in their wild-card playoff contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But despite fans calling for them to fire head coach Brandon Staley, he still has his job, which means there is no opening there for Payton.
Payton, of course, had plenty of success coaching the Saints back in the day, and with Drew Brees by his side, he led them to a Super Bowl championship in the 2009 season.
If he wants to return to the NFL, he could help transform the team that is lucky enough to sign him.