When the Denver Broncos go on the road to face the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football this week, Sean Payton will face the team that he coached from 2006-2021.
Now three years removed from his tenure in New Orleans, Payton might not necessarily have much intel on the Saints’ current players, but staff members like V.P. of player personnel Cody Rager and senior offensive assistant Pete Carmichael were in New Orleans as recently as last season.
Saints coach Dennis Allen served as Denver’s defensive coordinator in 2011, but that was so long ago that no players remain with the Broncos from that roster. Allen did, however, coach under Payton in two stints in New Orleans. Allen’s defense faced Payton’s offense every day in practice for 12 seasons.
Payton and Allen know each other well, so any inside intel they have on each other might be somewhat canceled out on Thursday.
“I think from a personnel perspective, you’d say most recently Cody,” Payton said of knowledge of the Saints. “There are a lot of players there for me that I’m unfamiliar with, but Pete or Cody [are familiar with]. So that part relative to the scouting report, strengths, weaknesses. Dennis [Allen] and I have worked together for…he was on our original [2006] staff, then became our defensive backs coach, became a defensive coordinator, came here, then [was a] head coach. Then I hired him back.
“I think I said this the other day: I think on a short week there will be a wrinkle or two, but so much of it is the rest, recovery and preparation mentally because you can’t actually get maybe the full-speed work that you’d like. That’s Thursday Night Football. It is what it is.”
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix downplayed Payton’s familiarity with the Saints, and he noted that New Orleans will have knowledge of Denver’s offense.
“Maybe a little bit, but things change yearly and weekly,” Nix said when asked if Payton’s knowledge of the Saints will give the Broncos an advantage. ” You never really know what they’re planning for until you get to the game. You can just go by film.
“It’s good that they have been around and at least they know some of the foundation. They also probably know us a little bit just because of the similar offense. It’ll be fun, and it’ll be who can execute at a higher level.”
Thursday’s game will be available to stream on Prime Video.
