After firing former head coach Nathaniel Hackett, the Denver Broncos’ new ownership group plans to go big with their first coach hire.
Payton is expected to command a big contract — that’s no problem for Denver’s wealthy owners. ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on Sunday morning that the team’s owners won’t “spare any expense” to improve the team, and they are expected to be willing to pay a large coach salary.
Bringing in Sean Payton would arguably be the biggest splash hire the team could make.
Paying him wouldn’t be a problem. Acquiring him might be.
Payton is still under contract with the New Orleans Saints, so the Broncos would need to complete a trade with the Saints if they were to hire the coach. There are numerous examples of NFL teams trading a first-round pick for a coach, and that would likely be a starting point for New Orleans.
Several teams have traded multiple draft picks for a coach, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers even gave up a pair of first-round picks for Jon Gruden when they acquired him from the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders.
The Saints will likely want at least a first-round pick for Payton, but two first-round picks like the Bucs gave up for Gruden seems unlikely to be repeated.
Could the Broncos pull it off?
Denver gave up five draft picks in the Russell Wilson trade, but the team will have a first-round pick in April from the Bradley Chubb trade. The Broncos will also have their own first-round pick in 2024. So, in theory, Denver has the draft capital that’s necessary to acquire Payton.
We know co-owner Greg Penner is willing to pay a large salary. Time will tell if he’s also willing to pay a big price just for the right to hire Payton.
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