The head coach of the New Orleans Saints, who left the team in January 2022 following the best season in the team’s history, has decided to take a coaching position with the Denver Broncos.

For Payton, this puts an end to an almost month-long ordeal. Four of the five NFL teams seeking to appoint a new coach this offseason have expressed interest in hiring Payton.

Payton has been employed by Fox this year as an in-studio commentator, and he has stated that if the proper offer did not materialize, he would feel at ease going back to broadcasting the next season.

It also answers a concern that the Saints had been wondering about: what kind of reward Payton’s services would get them?

The Broncos must make a deal to compensate the Saints for Payton because he has two more years left on his contract with them. This is only the second NFL head coach transaction since 2006; the other was Bruce Arians, who was traded from theo the Buccaneers in 2019.

The Broncos’ 2023 first-round pick (No. 29, obtained from Miami (via San Francisco) for defensive end Bradley Chubb midseason) and the next year’s second-round selection are being sent to the Saints in exchange for Denver hiring Payton, according to ESPN. Along with Payton, the Saints will send the Broncos their third-round pick in 2024.

Following the 2022 season, general manager Mickey Loomis of the Saints stated that when teams asked to speak with Payton, they discussed the general terms of a trade.

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022, at a press conference held at the Saints’ indoor practice facility on Airline Highway in Metairie, head coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints announced his retirement.

Sean Payton is leaving the New Orleans Saints on his terms after 16 years with the team, having orchestrated some of the most explosive offenses in NFL history and led the team to a cathartic Super Bowl victory. (Image courtesy of NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune and The New Orleans Advocate; photo by David Grunfeld)

Loomis stated, “I want the best for him—I do, we do, collectively as an organization,” during his early January end-of-year news conference. “He gave the New Orleans Saints everything he had and led us to heights that neither the squad nor the organization had ever reached before. I thus sincerely hope for the best for him. However, I also acknowledge his value as an asset.

“In any building, no one has a greater impact on success than the head coach and the quarterback of a team. I am aware of his contributions, and I think they are really valuable. And we have a responsibility to optimize that value.

The Broncos, along with the Cardinals, Texans, and Panthers, were one of four NFL teams authorized to confer with Payton during the summer.

Last week, the Panthers hired former Colts head coach Frank Reich, and on Tuesday, the Texans agreed to sign former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as their new coach.

The Broncos are hoping that by hiring Payton, the most successful coach in Saints history, they will rapidly turn around a team that is coming off a catastrophic 5-12 season by utilizing his creative offensive approach.

During his 16 years as the Saints’ head coach, Payton oversaw the team’s whole transformation. Prior to his arrival, the team had won very few significant games.

While the city was still getting over Hurricane Katrina, he helped convince quarterback Drew Brees to sign with the Saints, earning his first significant victory as head coach. Payton led the Saints to victory, using Brees as his right hand.

In Payton’s first season, the Saints advanced to the NFC championship game, and New Orleans’ thrilling 2009 campaign ended with a victory in Super Bowl XLIV.

The NFL standard-bearers were frequently Payton’s offenses. During his 15 years as an offensive play-caller, the Saints placed fifth in the scoring category nine times and in the overall offensive category ten times.

He inherits a Broncos offense that finished 2022 among the worst in the league, averaging an NFL-low 16.9 points per game. The Broncos are counting on Payton’s brilliance to make a difference, especially at quarterback.

After trading their own first-round pick—which ended up being in the top ten—to the Seattle Seahawks in a sensational trade for quarterback Russell Wilson last spring, the Broncos were left without it. Wilson is a nine-time Pro Bowler, and Denver rewarded him with a $245 million extension after that trade.

In Wilson’s first season with Denver, that deal appeared to be a complete bust. Wilson started games with the Broncos, going 4-11 while throwing a career-low 16 touchdown passes.

Given that many of the coaches on the Saints staff were first employed by Payton, Payton’s decision to join the Broncos might still have an impact on the team in the days and weeks to come, but New Orleans would also have some say in the matter.

At his press conference at the end of the season, Loomis stated, “Our coaches’ contracts mean that the only guys who could actually move without our consent are guys that are being promoted into coordinator roles.”

Thus, there isn’t really a need for it. He could call and ask, and we would probably say no if there was someone they really wanted who was a lateral move.”