Paton or Payton: Insider Reveals Who Has the Personnel Power at Broncos HQ
Since the Denver Broncos acquired head coach Sean Payton via trade from the New Orleans Saints and hired him on a five-year deal, media and fans alike have wondered who has final say over the roster. Is it GM George Paton, entering Year 3 in his role with the team, or Payton?
The Denver Gazette's Woody Paige provided some insider context, answering the question in no uncertain terms in his latest column.
General manager George Paton has survived into his second season. Yet, Paton’s role as the head of football operations has changed. Payton and Paton report to Greg Penner, but Payton is the power in football personnel. Instead of making all the decisions in free agency and the draft, as he did with the previous coach, Paton this time won’t make a pick or a trade without Payton’s approval.
Payton is the first Broncos coach with such control since Mike Shanahan and, before him, Dan Reeves. Lou Saban and John Ralston also were the Broncos bosses. They ultimately were pushed out, and Reeves and Shanahan, who someday will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, were fired.
Listeners of the Mile High Huddle Podcast know that when it comes to Paton's outlook, I've mused over the possibility of the Broncos duplicating their history with former GM Brian Xanders, who was the top football executive before the late Pat Bowlen hired John Elway to serve as V.P. of football operations in 2011. Xanders had been hired by Mike Shanahan in 2008.
It took a year before the Broncos parted ways with Xanders, and Elway quietly took over the general manager title and duties. Xanders was jettisoned following the 2012 NFL draft.
In that case, Elway needed a year's worth of runway to get acquainted with the job. He was a first-time NFL executive, after all, despite his Hall-of-Fame resume as a former quarterback.
Payton, meanwhile, is a 15-year NFL head-coaching veteran and has been intimately involved in roster decisions for much of that time, which begs the question: will Paton survive as GM beyond the draft?
I'd guess that Paton will survive because with him as GM, Payton gets the best of both worlds. Payton can keep his primary focus on coaching and scheming, while Paton does the 9-to-5 dirty work of overseeing the scouting of pro personnel and the college ranks. Payton ultimately gets the veto power, so why create more work for himself?
Payton had a long and fruitful working relationship with Saints GM Mickey Loomis. He has waxed poetic about Loomis and his time working hand-in-hand in New Orleans.
While it's slightly confusing that the name of both head coach and general manager is phonetically pronounced the same, it's ultimately a small aggravation in the grand scheme of things if Payton and Paton are able to forge a dynamic relationship at Broncos HQ.
As Paige writes, Payton has the "power" in the Broncos' front office, and that's a good thing. Not to diminish Paton's success as a draft artist (specifically in 2021), but let's face it: he was the primary culprit in Denver's woefully misguided decision to hire Nathaniel Hackett. Thus, Paton's football discernment can't be perfectly trusted.
Paton ultimately answers to Payton, and Payton serves at the pleasure of Broncos CEO and co-owner Greg Penner. Time will tell what hay this new football hierarchy can make for the Broncos organization while the sun is shining once again on the Mile High City.
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