The most prominent coach on the ''market'' has chosen his new team!
The Broncos and Saints have finalized a deal to land Sean Payton in Denver as their new coach, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Payton retired after the 2021 season and was still under contract with New Orleans.
Per ESPN, the Saints will send their third-round pick in 2024 and Payton to the Broncos in exchange for Denver's '23 first-round pick and next year's second-round pick.
Payton will take over the role after Nathaniel Hackett was fired 15 games into his first season. Hackett led the team to a 4�11 record during that span.
Payton, 59, last coached for the Saints in 2021 but remains under contract, which is why a trade needs to be negotiated. The Eastern Illinois grad's NFL coaching career began in 1997 with the Eagles. His 15-year journey across the league included three-quarters of the NFC East, excluding Washington, before his run as Saints' head coach in 2013.
While with New Orleans, he compiled a 152-89 record (.631 winning percentage) and a 9-8 record in the playoffs. The Saints were victorious in Super Bowl XLIV. He led the franchise through the Hurricane Katrina aftermath before getting caught up in the 2012 bounty scandal. Payton was suspended for the entire season, which gave him the honor of being the first head coach in the modern era to be suspended. The Associated Press bestowed Coach of the Year honors upon him in 2006 after his team went 10-6.
