© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
Sean Payton's Ranking Among NFL HCs Gives Broncos Fans Renewed Hope
It's been a tumultuous first year but this ranking shows how the NFL believes the Denver Broncos are on the right path with Sean Payton.
After the Denver Broncos acquired Sean Payton's coaching rights in a trade with the New Orleans Saints last year, there was speculation that the 2023 season would be Russell Wilson's evaluation under the new head coach.
Broncos GM George Paton relinquished a king’s ransom to acquire a disgruntled Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. Paton was the Broncos' top shot-caller at the time, and he doubled down by inking Wilson to a five-year, $245 million contract extension prior to the QB taking a regular-season snap.
Fast forward to 2023, when the Broncos fizzled out of playoff contention, it came as no surprise that Payton benched Wilson with two games left to play. Denver officially released Wilson earlier this month, despite the costly $85 million in dead-cap charges the team will split over the next two seasons. The Broncos will pay Wilson $37.8 million to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024.
With Wilson joining the Steelers on a one-year, veteran minimum contract, Broncos Country is about to find out whether Payton truly can resurrect this once revered and respected franchise. It'll take all of Payton's coaching wherewithal to undertake a rebuild and lead the Broncos out of the NFL doldrums.
It's fair to say that the NFL is still buying into Payton's coaching acumen, as evidenced by Pro Football Network ranking Payton No. 8 in its annual NFL Head Coaching Rankings for the 2024 season. PFN's
Dallas Robinson the Broncos boss some serious love and legitimate respect.
In his first season, Payton led the Broncos to an 8-9 record, which is the first time since 2016 that the team logged at least eight wins. It was a three-win improvement over the previous season's finish. Denver went 3-3 in the AFC West under Payton, which hasn’t happened since 2019, as the team previously went 1-5 in division play from 2020 to 2022.
Payton’s Broncos also sustained a five-game winning streak, won their first game ever in SoFi Stadium against the Los Angeles Chargers, and finally broke the Kansas City Chiefs' 16-game winning streak. The Broncos played meaningful games in December for the first time in a dog’s age.
Additionally, the NFLPA’s annual team offseason report card revealed an A- for Payton after media contingents slung mud at the bold and fiery head coach for his public benching of Wilson. There’s no chance that Payton considers the 2023 season a success, nor should Denver's Walton-Penner ownership group, who continue to invest heavily in making this team a beacon of success again.
Payton’s raking in PFN's top 10, paired with the potential of drafting a future franchise quarterback in the first round, should be enough to get Broncos Country itching to get to April 25.
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