Eleven things on the Broncos and new head coach Sean Payton as he goes about assembling a staff and providing Super Bowl coverage for FOX.
1. It was a whirlwind week for Payton, who was introduced as Denver’s new head coach on Monday and then went straight to the airport. He was on television for FOX from Los Angeles that night and spent most of the rest of the week in Arizona in the run-up to the Super Bowl.
2. That hasn’t stopped the new Broncos head man from starting to put together a staff, of course. On Monday, he moved to hire New Orleans assistant offensive line coach Zach Strief as his offensive line coach in Denver. Tuesday, he interviewed Seattle defensive assistant Sean Desai for his defensive coordinator opening. The Broncos have also requested an interview with New Orleans quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry for the offensive coordinator position and are moving forward in evaluating other staff spots, too. Payton on Friday morning told a group of reporters including some Denver media that he was conducting “four or five” virtual interviews a day.
3. Payton stopped by Kay Adams’ “Up & Adams” show on the Super Bowl’s Radio Row on Thursday afternoon. He talked about how he felt like he rushed his staff hires in 2006 after he was first named New Orleans’ head coach and that he’s not feeling pressure to get a staff assembled quickly just to have it in place. He mentioned there could still be college coaches that come available and also that NFL staffs are still shifting substantially with two head coaching vacancies out there in Arizona and Indianapolis.
4. “We’ve got time,” Payton said. “We’ve waited, interviewed even into the Combine and found really good coaches. So trying to be a little bit more patient. Obviously you focus on the coordinators and work your way down.” The NFL Combine in Indianapolis, for reference, begins Feb. 27 and runs through March 4.
5. FOX broadcaster and Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw said in an interview earlier in the week that Payton wasn’t interested in the Arizona job in part because he didn’t want to work with quarterback Kyler Murray. On Up & Adams, Payton pushed back against that notion while lightheartedly ribbing Bradshaw for “completely blowing up this story.”
6. “I think (Murray) is extremely talented,” Payton added. “I think they have some of the same challenges there that we have in Denver. They’re very similar challenges. The culture in the building has to be better. It just does. Two young coaches, it got away from them. That happens.”
7. When Payton first arrived in New Orleans, he and general manager Mickey Loomis made extensive changes to the roster. While discussing that Monday — and the typical period of upheaval that comes with major changes in organizations more broadly — Payton said he and general manager George Paton are going to give everybody a fair shake and essentially, “just go by what we see.”
8. “There’s a means to how everyone arrived here from a playing perspective,” Payton continued. “We have draft picks, we have free agents, we have undrafted free agents. That’s the method to procure the talent. Once they’re here, none of that matters. Once they’re here, we’re going to go by what we see and who gives us the best chance to win. There was turnover in that first couple of seasons (in New Orleans). There were a number of players that ended up playing on our Super Bowl team in 2009 that were a part of that transition. It was difficult and it was uncomfortable. There are a lot of people that embrace and are comfortable with change, and then there are a few who aren’t.”
9. One procedural note on the roster: The Broncos will have to make a decision on whether to pick up their fifth-year option on 2020 first-round draft pick Jerry Jeudy later this spring. The option is for 2024. Based on numbers provided to clubs by the NFL and reported by Sports Illustrated, the Denver wide receiver’s fifth-year option number is $12.987 million. Jeudy, of course, made a strong case to have that option exercised by blossoming over Denver’s final 10 games of the season.
10. Payton talked specifically about evaluating receivers Monday and said he thinks it’s one of the easier groups to get a beat on quickly. “You evaluate the tape and pretty soon some guys transition better, some guys run better, some guys are bigger targets inside,” he said. “When you’re looking at that position, maybe that’s even a little easier to see than some positions.”
11. Payton talked quite a bit Monday about his kids and had a good line regarding his son, Connor, and daughter, Meghan. “Connor, who is getting into scouting, he wants to eventually become a professional scout and maybe a general manager. My daughter Meghan, obviously, is into journalism. I think they both decided Connor wants to hire and fire the coach and Meghan wants to cover the hiring and the firing of the head coach.”
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