Sean Payton is the new head coach of the Denver Broncos. Jonathan Gannon is the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Payton was considered the favorite to be the Cardinals’ next head coach and he apparently had a fantastic interview when he was brought in.
However, the price to hire him was too high.
According to team owner Michael Bidwill, it wasn’t about the money, though.
It was about what the New Orleans Saints wanted, as Payton was still under contract with them despite having retired after the 2021 season.
“It was all the compensation, the draft compensation … we just weren’t willing to go with what the Saints wanted us to give up,” Bidwill said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
“It would have been too costly to the team for us to rebuild that roster. It was really a series of tradeoffs. I still felt like we got great coaches out there who could get this team turned around.”
The Broncos gave up a first-round pick this year and a second-round pick next year for the Saints’ third-round pick next year and the right to hire Payton.
Bidwill said he tried to negotiate and be flexible.
After a deal with the Saints could not be done, they turned their attention to Gannon and Bidwill naturally thinks they hired the right guy.
Ultimately, having Payton and losing the picks was a less desirable scenario than having Gannon and the picks.
“We’re going to be really happy with those draft choices this year and next year … that will help us get this team better quickly.”
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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