5 Broncos OC Candidates With Ties to Sean Payton
The Denver Broncos landed the big fish in Sean Payton.
Payton brings a new mentality to the team and will certainly change the culture in a positive way. His track record of success is hard to argue against, and the Broncos are poised to win again after a six-year slump.
Getting Russell Wilson back to his usual self and scoring more points will be the keys to that turnaround. Knowing who will be part of his offensive staff will help to understand just how quickly the Broncos can bounce back, but Payton has yet to make a single hire, though two coaches have been cut loose.
We can only speculate who Payton will bring in as offensive coordinator. Who would make sense to join Payton and Wilson in Denver?
Five candidates come to mind.
Doug Marrone
Marrone was the offensive coordinator for New Orleans Saints from 2006-08 under Payton. Before leaving to become the head coach at Syracuse, the offense ranked No. 1, No. 4, and No. 1 in the NFL over those three seasons.
Currently, Marrone is back with the Saints as the offensive line coach, so the coordinator position would be a promotion, and the move couldn’t be blocked. He has significant experience, including stints as the head coach of both the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Aaron Kromer
Another candidate with a significant history tied to Payton. He was an assistant coach on the Saints from 2008-12 and served as the interim head coach while Payton was serving his suspension for Bountygate.
Kromer has experience as an offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears, but that offense wasn’t consistent. He had a great season in 2013 when the Bears were the No. 2 offense, but in 2014 that offense took a major tumble. He is currently the offensive line coach with the Bills.
John Morton
Morton was the passing game coordinator with the Saints in 2006 and the wide receivers coach from 2015-16. He doesn’t have experience as an offensive coordinator, but he had a solid season as the senior offensive assistant with the Detroit Lions this past season.
Morton is a prime candidate who started out as an assistant in the NFL in 1998, indicating his lengthy experience in the coaching field.
David Shaw
The Broncos ownership group has a relationship with Shaw, and its influence may be the deciding factor in who Payton hires for his coordinator. Shaw was interviewed for the head-coaching job before it was given to Payton. Discounting Shaw's relationship with Denver's ownership group would be a mistake.
Shaw has been a head coach and offensive coordinator in college football and has NFL assistant coaching experience. Furthermore, he was an offensive quality control coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1997 when Payton was there as the QBs coach.
Joe Lombardi
This candidate is almost too obvious. Recently fired after having some up-and-down seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, Lombardi is available to be hired quickly.
It makes sense, given the fact that he was with the Saints for 12 seasons. He has four years of experience as an offensive coordinator. However, Lombardi's inability to catapult a talented Justin Herbert into elite status and the Chargers' lackluster offensive performance is a bit of a mar on his record.
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