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The Denver Broncos acquired head coach Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints on Jan. 31, 2023. Denver traded a first-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick in exchange for Payton and the Saints' 2024 third-round pick.
Last night, on Feb. 3, the Broncos Twitter page officially named Payton as their head coach.
This comes after the team fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett after one season. He was hired as the team's head coach nearly a year ago but was fired after a 4-11 start with Russell Wilson and Denver.
They finished 5-12 last season, which was the last place in the AFC West. With the announcement of Denver welcoming Payton on Twitter, fans reacted to the team making the news official.
Fans had mixed opinions upon hearing the news of the Broncos acquiring Payton. Some thought they gave up too much, while others pointed to Wilson still playing poorly, while others were confident with the hiring.
Here's how fans reacted to the news:
Can Sean Payton and Russell bring a Super Bowl championship to Denver?
Between Wilson and Payton, the two have a combined two Super Bowl victories.
Wilson has one as a player with the Seahawks and Payton has one as the head coach of the Saints. Wilson had his worst season ever last year with career-lows in TD-INT ratio, passer rating, regular season wins, and completion percentage.
Payton took the 2022 season off from coaching, but returns with the Broncos.
Former Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who was coached by Sean Payton for most of his career, said that this is the best-case scenario for Wilson to be in.
Brees said:
“He’s really excited. He can speak for himself, but I think the idea of having Sean Payton come for what he’s hoping is the rest of his career, I’m not sure there’s a better scenario for him."
Wilson will be under high scrutiny if he performs poorly, especially after the team let go of Nathanile Hackett in 15 games.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Ed Werder, Drew Brees, and H/T Sportskeeda.
