Sean Payton made it clear during his introductory press conference that the most important thing he was considering for his next team was ownership and the front office, and their relationship with him as the head coach.
The Denver Broncos have an ownership group that’s led by co-owner CEO Greg Penner, and the team’s general manager is George Paton, who has been in charge of the team’s personnel decisions over the last two years.
After hiring a high-profile coach like Payton, the Broncos aren’t going to have him report directly to their GM. Instead, both Paton and Payton will report to Penner.
Paton said in December that he would have a “collaborative” relationship with the team’s next coach. Payton made a similar remark during Monday’s press conference.
“[A]t some point, someone here is going to ask, ‘Is it you or is it George drafting the players? Is it you or George cutting the team? Is it you or George?’” Payton said. “Mickey Loomis and I for 16 years — and I mean this — I can’t think of one challenging time we had relative to the roster.
“We might go into the office and discuss it. [I can’t think of] one challenging time we had relative to the draft picks. We’d go in and figure it out, and certainly, in a collaborative effort, handle that with [ownership]. That’s the greatness of the teamwork.”
Loomis, of course, was the Saints GM that worked with Payton for his entire tenure in New Orleans.
Payton said Paton has already reminded him of Loomis.
“When I arrived in New Orleans for that first day, there was no one at the airport,” the coach recalled. “What I mean by that was the only person at the airport, besides from the pilots, was Mickey at baggage claim. It was pretty raw still. I remember that day and feeling. As the day progressed, I thought, ‘I kind of like this guy,’ and I liked his personality … George and I first had a chance to meet in L.A. For the last three days, we have probably worn out the path going back and forth to each other’s offices. I feel the same way.
“I feel like I’ve got good instincts, and I feel like there’s a demeanor with him that reminds me of Mickey in a good way. [He is] very steady. I’ve always respected the teams that he’s been a part of.”
Paton and Payton have competed against each other in the past, and they spoke multiple times while the Broncos were negotiating a trade with the Saints to acquire Payton. Since the coach landed in Denver, he and Paton have continued daily conversations.
“I have spent a lot of time in his office, and he has spent a lot of time in mine,” Paton said. “Obviously, this is a honeymoon period. We have a lot of work to do, but I do think we have similar philosophies and similar visions of how to build this team. That starts today.”
Payton won’t have full control of the team’s operation, and Paton won’t have full authority, either. They’ll work together.
“There’s this myth that I’m this tyrant that has to come into the building and control everything,” Payton said. “I’m like, ‘Where are you guys getting all this stuff from?’ I might be a tyrant once in a while, though, but not a lot. Anyway, I really enjoy his company and it’s worked extremely well so far.”
So far, so good for Payton and Denver’s front office.
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