Tag: Sean Payton

Dennis Allen shares Coach of the Year odds with 3-time winner Bill Belichick

There’s something you don’t see very day. Dennis Allen has the same Coach of the Year odds as three-time award winner Bill Belichick:

There’s something you don’t see very day. Dennis Allen didn’t exactly inspire confidence in his first year as New Orleans Saints head coach, though his 7-10 finish nearly matched his three-year win total with the Raiders a decade ago (8-28). Now he has the same Coach of the Year odds as three-time award winner Bill Belichick at DraftKings Sportsbook, both sitting at +2500. That means a $100 wager would return a $2,600 payout.

That matches what you’ll see from other notable coaches around the league, like Mike Tomlin, Kevin Stefanski, Zac Taylor, Brandon Staley, Shane Steichen, and Pete Carroll. Ten coaches have better odds than this group, including ex-Saints head coach Sean Payton (who is a betting favorite at +900; a $100 slip would cash out $1,000). Why is someone with Belichick’s resume in this kind of company?

To be frank, the New England Patriots haven’t been the same since Tom Brady left town. Belichick’s team has only posted a single winning record in the last three years and young quarterback Mac Jones hasn’t developed as hoped under his tutelage. They’re in an even more precarious position than the Saints in a tough division with little margin for error.

Back to the Saints. Allen is facing a make-or-break scenario with New Orleans pushing all their chips in on his vision for the team. They’ve built an offense around Derek Carr and paired him with the best defense he’s ever seen in the NFL. With the rest of the NFC South actively rebuilding and not looking competitive in 2023, there won’t be any excuses if Allen posts another losing record. If he leads the Saints somewhere special, well: maybe he’ll look like a fitting recipient of that Coach of the Year award after all.

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Sean Payton predicts 3-4 of his Broncos assistants will become head coaches

Sean Payton expects several members of his Broncos staff to eventually become head coaches in the NFL.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

Sean Payton knows what it takes to go from an assistant to a head coach in the NFL.

After starting his coaching career in the college ranks, Payton got his start in the NFL as a quarterbacks coach with the Philadephia Eagles in 1997. He later held the same position with the New York Giants before being promoted to offensive coordinator.

By the team he reached the Dallas Cowboys in 2003, Payton had worked his way up to assistant head coach/QBs coach. He held that position for three seasons in Dallas before becoming the New Orleans Saints’ head coach in 2006.

Payton quickly built a winning coaching staff in New Orleans — his initial staff included Doug Marrone as offensive coordinator, Dennis Allen as assistant defensive line coach and Curtis Johnson as wide receivers coach.

Marrone went on to become an NFL head coach (he’s now back with the Saints coaching their offensive line). Allen also went on to become a head coach and he ultimately ended up replacing Payton in New Orleans. Johnson is currently the head coach of the Houston Gamblers in the USFL.

More recently, Dan Campbell served as Payton’s assistant head coach and tight ends coach with the Saints from 2016-2020. Campbell is now the head coach of the Detroit Lions.

Payton knows what successful assistant coaches look like, and he envisions several members of his Denver staff going on to have similar success.

“There are three or four coaches on this staff —  — that will end up being head coaches,” Payton said on June 14. “For me, for as long as I’ve done this, you want to see those guys have success. I love seeing Dan Campbell and what he’s doing in Detroit. Doug Marrone, Dennis Allen and a number of coaches who go on to positions and fulfill their goals. That’s what we’re trying to do.

“My early years in New Orleans, we had success and the late [former Saints Owner] Mr. [Tom] Benson came to me and said, ‘Coach, we have we have a lot of people interviewing our coaches.’ I said, ‘Mr. B, that’s not a problem. The problem is when no one wants to visit with our coaches.’ We have a lot of talent on the staff, and it takes that to be successful.”

The list of promising young coaches on Payton’s staff with the Broncos includes defensive backs coach Christian Parker and defensive line coach Marcus Dixon, two holdovers from the previous staff. Denver also has Vance Joseph as defensive coordinator. After previously serving as a head coach with the Broncos from 2017-2018, Joseph might be a candidate for head coach jobs again in the future if his second stint in Denver goes well.

Payton has an eye for talent — both talented players and talented coaches. We’ll see if his prediction about the current staff holds up in the coming years.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Peyton Manning: ‘I certainly was all in’ on Sean Payton for Broncos job

Peyton Manning says ‘I certainly was all in’ on Sean Payton for Broncos job, sees similar ‘committed organization’ to Saints in Denver:

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

This is kind of what you’d expect him to say, but it still stands out when you hear it in his voice and see it spelled out in print. Peyton Manning wasn’t just happy to find out Sean Payton was taking the Denver Broncos head coaching job — he advocated for the former New Orleans Saints coach to win it.

Manning fielded questions from reporters at last week’s Manning Passing Academy, where he joked that he “might have known a little bit what was going on” given his connections with ownership groups around the league. The Hall of Fame quarterback won his first Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts and sealed a second championship with the Broncos, and his word still weighs a lot in both cities, even with changes in ownership and a new general manager in Denver.

Manning shared his experience in the middle of it all, which started when Payton joined Manning and his brothers for a golf trip last summer after stepping down as Saints head coach.

“I certainly was all in on Sean,” Manning said. “I could tell he wanted to get back in it. I could tell he was looking for a committed organization that gave him the great support that he got here in New Orleans from the Benson family. I think he definitely found that with the Broncos’ new ownership. They’re going to give him what he needs and what he wants.”

Manning added that Payton is a coach who knows exactly what he wants. He used examples like his preference at left guard (where the Broncos invested a four-year, $52 million contract in former Baltimore Ravens starter Ben Powers) and at tight end (where Payton traded with the Saints to bring in Adam Trautman, one of his former draft picks). As was the case in New Orleans, the decision-makers in Denver are making an effort to keep Payton happy. Manning’s lobbying might have helped a little, but it shouldn’t be a surprise that Payton wound up in Broncos country after all.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Broncos coach Sean Payton appreciates Vance Joseph’s calm, professional approach

“There’s a calmness to him and professionalism to him that I appreciate,” Sean Payton said of Vance Joseph. “He’s an extremely good leader.”

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

After being hired by the Denver Broncos earlier this year as head coach, Sean Payton made big changes to the team’s coaching staff.

Payton brought back just four coaches from the former staff. One of the new coaches he brought in is defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who served as the team’s head coach from 2017-2018.

Fans in Denver might not have fond memories of Joseph because of his losing record as a head coach (11-21), but Payton appreciates Joseph’s coaching style, and he believes he’s a good fit to run the defense.

“Well, there’s a calmness to him and professionalism to him that I appreciate,” Payton said on June 14. “We always found a way to shake each other’s hand after a game or talk to each other. I just think that there’s a poise and a credibility when he presents that’s impressive. I think he’s an extremely good communicator, and I think he’s an extremely good leader.

“It never gets mentioned but dating back to even 2006 when I first became a head coach, it’s understanding the importance of hiring the right staff. I think we’ve been able to do that. We have guys that are teachers. We’ve got young, and we’ve got old — a lot of different former and experienced [coaches]. I think with Vance, there’s that calmness with him, and I think he’s a good communicator.”

Joseph, 50, has been coaching in the NFL since 2005. He worked his way up from a defensive backs coach to a defensive coordinator and ultimately to head coach before returning to a coordinator role. Payton seems confident that Joseph’s second stint in Denver will go better than the first.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Broncos coach Sean Payton on scuffles: Get to the edge, but don’t cross the line

Sean Payton wants passionate players, but he doesn’t want that passion to turn into penalties. “Get to the edge, but not cross the line.”

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton wants to cut down the number of penalties the team committed in 2022 before Payton joined the team. To be a disciplined team on Sundays in the fall, Broncos players need to show discipline at practice on Monday-Saturday practices during the summer.

If they’re going to avoid fighting with opponents on game days, Denver’s players have to learn to not fight each other at practice, something that happens nearly every training camp.

“The message is we have to understand what we are trying to accomplish as a team,” Payton said on June 14. “It’s always the challenge for the [offensive] and [defensive] linemen. We also have to be able to understand — discipline-wise — how to get to the edge, but not cross the line.

“Games come up — we saw it last year [in] a playoff run; I referenced the Cincinnati Bengals’ penalty late [in the AFC Championship Game]. You have to train yourself mentally to get onto the next play. That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing.”

The Broncos committed 113 penalties last year, the second-highest total in the NFL — Denver was an undisciplined team in 2022. Payton aims to change that in 2023.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Sean Payton aims to bring a winning culture to Broncos

“We’re in the passion business,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. He’s looking for the right players to build a winning culture.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

The Denver Broncos certainly haven’t had a winning culture in recent seasons.

Since winning Super Bowl 50 in 2015, the Broncos have had six straight losing seasons and seven straight seasons without a playoff berth. New head coach Sean Payton reached the playoffs nine times in 15 seasons with the New Orleans Saints, and he won a Super Bowl with the Saints.

Payton will now aim to bring that winning culture to the Broncos. Having the right coaching staff is important, but it ultimately falls on the players.

“[I]t starts with the ingredients,” Payton said on June 13. “The recipe for culture starts with who’s in the building. It’s hard to have the right culture if you don’t have the right ingredients. Then, it’s the attention to every detail. There has to be passion involved with that. In the procurement process of players, you really have to dig into  — it’s the hardest thing for us — finding guys that truly love their job. It’s finding the right people to build the culture around.”

Part of being the right player is being a team-first player. Payton used an example of a star receiver having a quiet game in a win and being OK with it. Payton wants unselfish, passionate players on his team.

“We’re in the passion business, and you’re looking for all those traits,” he said.

Including the playoffs, Payton has won 161 games in the NFL. His winning percentage (.631) ranks 24th on the NFL’s all-time list, above Hall of Famers Bill Cowher (.623), Joe Gibbs (.621), Bill Walsh (.609) and Tom Landry (.607), plus a familiar name to Broncos fans in Mike Shanahan (.552).

Fixing the franchise will start with fixing the team’s culture, and Payton’s history suggests he is up to the task. The Saints quickly went from one of the worst teams in the NFL to a Super Bowl contender — and Super Bowl champion — under Payton. Now the Broncos will aim to do the same.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Broncos coach Sean Payton is ‘addicted’ to chasing another Super Bowl

Broncos coach Sean Payton is addicted to chasing a second Super Bowl title. “It’s borderline obsessive,” he said.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

Sean Payton is one of nine active head coaches who have won a Super Bowl in the NFL, joining Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, Mike McCarthy, Doug Pederson and Sean McVay.

Payton won his title when the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV following the 2009 season. Payton reached the playoffs eight other times in his 15 seasons with the Saints, including two trips to the NFC title game.

Payton knows what it takes to win it all in the NFL. Now he’ll aim to help the Denver Broncos return to Super Bowl contention after seven-straight years of missing the playoffs before his arrival.

“When it’s happened once — you ever do something that you are so excited after you’ve done it once, and you can’t wait to show somebody?” Payton said on June 13. “You see a movie, you go to a great restaurant, you got a great Christmas gift and it’s unbelievable and you just can’t wait for someone else [to see it]? That’s kind of like winning a championship.

“You are addicted to it. Last night being in that moment and watching [the Nuggets] enjoy it, there is just nothing like it. It’s borderline obsessive. After 2009, we had a number of close, tough playoff games — some big wins and tough losses. You want everyone that has not had that opportunity [to have it]. If I said to you to pretend you have a picture of what it is like, and then I said I want you to [multiply] it by 100,000, it’s even better than that.”

Payton helped the Saints turn into immediate contenders upon his arrival. After going 3-13 in 2005, New Orleans went 10-6 and won the NFC South in Payton’s first season in charge in 2006.

That doesn’t mean Payton will be able to instantly win the AFC West with Denver, but it might be a sign that he can help a team get back on track quickly. Eventually contending for a Super Bowl is the ultimate goal, but Broncos fans would probably be happy merely to return to the playoffs in 2023.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Broncos aim to fix special teams with a unique coaching staff

The special teams staff includes Mike Westhoff, with 32 years of experience, and Chris Banjo, a rookie coach. Ben Kotwica is in the middle.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

Special teams have been a disaster for the Denver Broncos in recent seasons.

So it’s no surprise that new head coach Sean Payton made it a priority to completely overall the club’s special teams units this offseason — from the coaching staff to the players, just about everything is new.

One of Payton’s biggest hires was Mike Westhoff, a 75-year-old coach who came out of retirement to help with Payton’s special teams project. Westhoff is officially listed as the club’s assistant head coach, but he is expected to focus on special teams.

The official special teams coach is coordinator Ben Kotwica, who worked with Westhoff with the New York Jets from 2007-2012. Kotwica’s assistant special teams coach will be Chris Banjo, a former safety who just retired this spring and is transitioning to coaching.

It’s a unique staff.

“Mike and I worked together and had a lot of success together during our days in New York with the Jets,” Kotwica said on June 14. “He’s been doing it for such a long time, and he’s been a great mentor and friend. You have Mike on that side of the spectrum, who has been doing it for 30-plus years. Then, you have Coach Banjo, who has been doing it for about three weeks. I’m somewhere in the middle, and that dynamic has been excellent.

“Everybody brings things that are different to the table. So far, so good. There is common language, and it’s been good discussion as far as making our unit better.”

Westhoff has more seniority and he will undoubtedly have a say on special teams decisions, but he’ll work together with Kotwica, the official special teams coordinator.

“Mike has been doing it for such a long time, so we’re using his knowledge and expertise,” Kotwica said. “We have such a great working relationship, whether it’s in meetings or certain things that he’ll take over and talk about or certain things that I’ll talk about. We get on to the field and we separate things. It’s really been a great partnership so far, and I’m excited about where it’s going to go.”

The Broncos ranked dead last in kickoff return average last season (17.5 yards per return) and 12th-worst on punt returns (8.3 yards). Denver’s field goal success rate (77.8%) ranked fifth-worst in the NFL.

There’s a lot of work to be done on special teams. Westhoff, Kotwica and Banjo will be tasked with getting the unit back on track with the help of some new personnel this fall.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Sean Payton thinks NFL’s fair catch rule will have unintended consequences

The NFL will spot kickoffs at the 25-yard line after a fair catch. Here’s why that could result in more drives starting at the 40-yard line.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

The NFL made several rule changes this offseason, including spotting the ball at the 25-yard line after a fair catch on a kickoff.

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton was not necessarily in favor of that rule, in part because it will make it harder to benefit from shorter kickoffs following a penalty.

“There’ll be, strategically, more opportunities where teams who are kicking the ball decide not to kick it high,” Payton said on June 14. “Let’s say there’s a foul on a scoring play, and you have it on the 50-yard line. You kick it in the air, they fair catch it and it’s at the 25. You don’t realize any of the penalty. I was kind of pushing for if that were the case, I would have thought that we would have put the ball on the 10 to realize the 15-yard personal foul, but that’s not the case.”

Payton believes that there could be unintended consequences of this new rule. If teams start kicking the ball low, it could bounce near the sideline, giving a returner an opportunity to field it with a foot out of bounds. That would technically put the ball “out of bounds,” a penalty that spots the ball at the 40-yard line.

“The last thing we’re going to do — unless we’re late in the game — is put it high in the air and start at the 25. Because of that, you’re going to see balls on the ground more. We just did a straddle rule [at practice]. You guys have all seen those balls near the sideline and the returners kind of in that dilemma of is it going out of bounds? If they’ve got a foot that is on the paint of the sideline and then touch the ball in play, it’s out of bounds and it goes to the 40. We call it straddle. I think we’re going to see that situation probably tick up a little bit as a result of the rule change.”

So after the NFL made an effort to reduce kickoffs and spot the ball at the 25-yard line after a fair catch, the result could instead be more teams kicking the ball low — hoping for a return. More low kicks could lead to more kicks going out of bounds and more “straddle” situations, which could mean more drives starting at the 40-yard line instead of the 25-yard line.

Unless kickers can avoid the sidelines, coaches might lobby for the NFL’s new fair catch rule to be one-and-done after the 2023 season.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Sean Payton praises LB Alex Singleton’s consistency and performance

Broncos coach Sean Payton praised LB Alex Singleton for his consistency, performance, vision, football IQ and communication.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

One of the Denver Broncos’ big in-house free agents this spring was inside linebacker Alex Singleton. The Broncos made re-signing Singleton a priority and ultimately gave him a three-year, $18 million contract.

“With regards to [ILB Alex] Singleton, it was just the consistency, the performance, the vision, him knowing the defense, playing well on a good defense a year ago, and his communication skills,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said on June 14. “It’s a harder position to evaluate in the draft because you are getting lighter and lighter in the college game.

“Twenty years ago, there were certain positions that were hard to evaluate, and 20 years later, you have safety-body types playing linebacker. You are constantly projecting where you see a player in college. It’s hard to find a fullback. We drafted a linebacker who we think is a prototype. You will hear me use that term. I like bigger players. With him, it was his production, and you know what you are getting, which is a great trait to have as a player.”

While rookie Drew Sanders projects as a “prototype” future starter, Singleton represents the present for Denver. Singleton is coming off a 163-tackle season in 2022 and he has four years of NFL experience to lean on. The Broncos know exactly what they’re getting with Singleton.

One day — perhaps even later this season — Sanders will likely emerge as a starter for the Broncos. Meanwhile, Singleton will remain one of the team’s top defenders as Denver prepares to begin training camp next month.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts