After firing Nathaniel Hackett, Denver Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner interviewed eight candidates to replace him and ultimately landed on hiring Sean Payton. Penner couldn’t be happier with the results of the search.
“Last month, I said that we were looking for a strong leader who could build a winning culture,” Payton said Monday. “One with accountability, discipline and also build a really strong identity on offense. I could not be prouder of where we came out and we have the perfect coach in Sean Payton. …
“Sean pours his heart and soul into winning, and players respond to his enthusiasm, creativity and genuine love of the game. In just a few days here in our building last week, he is already bringing that energy and passion into our building and organization.”
Part of what attracted Penner to Payton was the coach’s obsession with details.
“[H]e put a winning football team on the field just about every year for 15 seasons. You don’t do that without incredible passion and intensity. As I called around and talked to others around the league, it kept coming up. It’s the attention to detail.
“I think one of [his] former players told me a story about the size of the towels in the locker room. Sean didn’t think the towels were big enough. That level of attention to detail is what makes for winning organizations. He’s going to bring that energy and passion to every part of our building.”
Payton spoke about having the New Orleans Saints get bigger towels for fans to wave at games, and he mentioned even reviewing what kind of shoes players wear. No detail is too minor for Payton’s consideration.
“If we are maniacal with the details on the field, then we have to be that way in every other element — the training room, the weight room, how we approach ticket sales,” Payton said. “Everything matters. You can’t just say, ‘Oh, it’s only this that’s important.’ Everything matters. How we traveled. How we celebrated in the locker room.
“We brought a $30,000-dollar stereo system — Club Dub. We thought it was important, especially on the road, that everyone could hear our locker room celebrating and say, ‘What is going on in there?’ That is creating culture. With the right people, and with the details — I can go on and on.”
Broncos fans will hope that Payton brings a similar “Club Dub” stereo system to Denver, and they’ll hope it’s used more often than five times following the team’s five-win season in 2022.
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