There might not be a bigger name in the NFL coaching rumor mill than Sean Payton. At least one team is jumping into the mix to hire him.
The Broncos have received permission from the Saints to interview Payton, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. No team can speak with him in person until at least Jan. 17, Schefter added.
MORE: Sean Payton’s best fits, from Cardinals to Broncos
The Denver Broncos requested and received permission from the New Orleans Saints to interview Sean Payton for their head coach job, league sources tell ESPN.
The NFL ruled that any in-person interview with Payton cannot be conducted until at least January 17, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 7, 2023
There is no guarantee Payton will return to the NFL, but he has been connected to a number of head coach openings since his retirement after the 2021 season. Schefter previously reported Payton has assembled an “all-star staff” for his next head coaching stint.
How Sean Payton’s Saints contract affects coaching search
It won’t be as simple as offering Payton a contract, however. Before he retired, Payton signed an extension with the Saints to keep him in New Orleans until 2024. If another team wants to make him their head coach, they would need to work out a trade with the Saints.
The Saints hired Dennis Allen to replace Payton starting in 2022, and New Orleans television station WVUE has reported that there is no reason to believe the team would want to move on from him at the end of the year. A trade for Payton would, in essence, give New Orleans a free asset.
MORE: Sean Payton contract, explained
The Broncos fired first-year coach Nathaniel Hackett on Dec. 26. Hackett previously was the Packers’ offensive coordinator. There were lofty expectations for the team in 2022 after Denver acquired quarterback Russell Wilson in a trade with the Seahawks. Wilson was considered the biggest missing piece for a team that went 7-10 in 2021.
Instead, the Broncos took a major step back, falling to 4-12 and having the worst offense in the league (16 points per game) heading into Week 18. Wilson has turned in the worst season of his career: his 13 touchdown passes are seven fewer than his previous career low, and his 10 interceptions mark just the fifth time in his 11-year career that he has exceeded double digits.
Would Payton be enough to turn Denver around? If any coach can, it might be him. He is 23rd on the NFL’s all-time coaching wins list and has an overall record of 152-89. When he left the Saints, he had posted five straight winning seasons and had made the playoffs in four of those years.
