The Denver Broncos agreed to terms of a trade with the New Orleans Saints last Tuesday that will allow them to make Sean Payton their next head coach.
Payton has not coached with the Saints since 2021, but because he still had two years left on his contract in New Orleans, the Broncos had to work out a trade with the Saints before hiring him (a rare occurrence in the NFL).
Payton has not yet been officially announced with a formal press conference in Denver — that will happen on Monday.
The Broncos announced the hire on Friday evening. Before the hire was official, the team posted a funny tweet hinting at Payton’s arrival.
Quarterback Russell Wilson has not yet publicly commented on the Payton hire, either, but he quietly acknowledged the hire through his “likes” on Twitter.
Wilson has “liked” the following tweets on Twitter in recent days.
Big Mood 😂🙌 #LFG #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/raFavdgOB7
— Emmanuel Sanders (@ESanders_10) January 31, 2023
Let the fun begin!!! 🐎 pic.twitter.com/wlQBn6KDGH
— Tim Patrick (@Tpstreets) January 31, 2023
— Patrick Surtain (@PatSurtainll) January 31, 2023
Sean Payton is a star, a culture changer, a future Hall of Famer.
He’s worth every single penny. And draft pick.
— Adam Schein (@AdamSchein) January 31, 2023
Sean Payton is the perfect hire for Russell Wilson, perfect.
Under Sean Payton:
Drew Brees: Super Bowl MVP
Teddy Bridgewater: 5-1
Jameis Winston: 5-2
Taysom Hill: 7-2
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) January 31, 2023
Drew Brees described this to me as being a pivotal time for Russell Wilson:
“To me, this is set up to be Russell Wilson’s prime _ especially with Sean Payton and a system that’s going to be built around him…This is a great opportunity for Russell Wilson.” pic.twitter.com/6bl9A0XG6w— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) February 1, 2023
I spoke to @drewbrees about @SeanPayton and @DangeRussWilson
“He’s really excited,” Brees said of Wilson. “He can speak for himself, but I think the idea of having Sean Payton come for what he’s hoping is the rest of his career, I’m not sure there’s a better scenario for him.” pic.twitter.com/qWZeZzEg5h
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) February 1, 2023
Then, after the team officially announced the Payton hire on Friday evening, Wilson retweeted this post from the team’s account:
We needed a strong leader who’s focused on winning.@SeanPayton is that guy — and then some. pic.twitter.com/iPFslr17jh
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) February 3, 2023
Judging from Wilson’s Twitter activity, it seems safe to say the quarterback is excited about Denver’s new coach. Broncos fans are, too. A new era will begin for the franchise this fall.
