The Denver Broncos found their next head coach, and for the second consecutive season are engaged with a blockbuster trade that will see the Broncos give up multiple high-round draft picks, this time for head coach Sean Payton.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Saints will receive the Broncos’ 2023 first-round pick (the 29th overall pick) and 2024 second-round pick for Payton and the Saints’ 2024 third-round selection.
The Broncos are also expected to make Payton one of the highest-paid head coaches in the league.
Payton had been mulling a return to the sidelines after spending the last year in the broadcasting booth, and reportedly was seeking a good fit.
“This was the opportunity I was looking for,” Payton said, according to NOLA.com. “It’s a great fanbase and great tradition,” Payton added. “The ownership group is fantastic, and I love the way they competed in some of their games last year. It’s a good football city that we had in New Orleans.”
Last offseason, the Broncos traded their first round pick to the Seattle Seahawks as part of their blockbuster trade for quarterback Russell Wilson, and then acquired a first round pick from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for linebacker Bradley Chubb, with that pick being sent to the Saints as part of the package for Payton.
Payton, who was the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2006, was 152-89 in his 15 seasons as Saints head coach and led the team to a Lombardi trophy in Super Bowl XLIV.
