What does Sean do now?

[AKRNA]

Well, where does Sean go from here? Now it's time to pay attention. What he does as far as filling out his staff will have a huge effect going forward. Our ability to maximize the potential of low draft picks has never been higher. That's going to take a helluva  staff.

Resigning our own players, dealing with a Salary cap that won't allow much for FA and dealing with the lack of core talent due to loss of 6 premium picks are just some of the obstacles he faces. Doing that will require patience, something our fan base and apparently FO are really short on.

Hopefully our fan base dampens their expectations. Sean should be a great asset given time. He'll provide a legit HC and stability right away. Anyway, I'm really curious about the path forward. Hoping for the best.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by AKRNA

[BroncoBruin]

Time to put together the best staff money can buy. That starts with the DC. Sounds like Fangio is in play, if you can’t land him hope you can bring back Evero on a raise. 

Offensively Payton will bring in his guys and he’ll have his hands on everything, the critical thing is hitting on the OL coach and turning that group and the run game around. I think it will be Roushar which would be an A+ hire, if not I bet Munchak or Marrone would be in play, both would be good hires. Payton knows how important this is and I expect he’ll get it right. 

I’d like to see Rosburg back as special teams coordinator, we’ll see. I don’t expect Payton to hire a doofus as STC like the last three guys. Sometimes I wonder how much most coaches really value special teams, I bet the best coaches do. 

Prioritize quality veteran coaches who will obsess over the details, sprinkle in a few young up-and-comers who can build relationships with players. 

[broncos67]

10 hours ago, AKRNA said:

Well, where does Sean go from here? Now it's time to pay attention. What he does as far as filling out his staff will have a huge effect going forward. Our ability to maximize the potential of low draft picks has never been higher. That's going to take a helluva  staff.

Resigning our own players, dealing with a Salary cap that won't allow much for FA and dealing with the lack of core talent due to loss of 6 premium picks are just some of the obstacles he faces. Doing that will require patience, something our fan base and apparently FO are really short on.

Hopefully our fan base dampens their expectations. Sean should be a great asset given time. He'll provide a legit HC and stability right away. Anyway, I'm really curious about the path forward. Hoping for the best.

 

 

I'm not dampening my expectations whatsoever, even if I should. Paying the price of 3 first rounders and 3 second rounders for a QB and a coach means I expect to win the division and be in the AFCCG next year. That's what a price that steep should give us. Anything less is failure and everyone should be fired. Am I being impatient? Sure am, but that's what the Broncos owner said about himself.

There should be no patience here because the FO/Ownership have pushed chips to the middle of the table for an established veteran QB and high-end coach. You don't get a grace period under those circumstances. If we were paying that premium for a rookie QB, it's a different discussion, but we didn't.

Payton needs to hire an experienced staff immediately. The FO needs to approach any player worth their salt and talk about contract restructuring and cap space maneuvering. No excuses - that's my theme for this year. The team has firmly staked their belief to Payton in such a way that tells fans they believe this team can win now. 

[elwayfan07]

It seems as though Broncos fans are doing everything they can to set themselves up to remain miserable. The fact is this year will be important and if Russ really is cooked, they can get out from under the contract pretty easily and rebuild. Either way, if you feel Sean Payton is that good of a coach, it is worth it. History shows he is worth it. The last few coaches traded for a 1st rounder were Gruden-SB, Parcells last time Jets had sustained success, and Belicheck- multiple SB. However, it is entertaining to see the backflips people are doing to be absolutely miserable. Every franchise has gone through a down period, Denver will come out of this, let's just try not to be such a negative and miserable fan base.

[broncos67]

1 hour ago, elwayfan07 said:

It seems as though Broncos fans are doing everything they can to set themselves up to remain miserable. The fact is this year will be important and if Russ really is cooked, they can get out from under the contract pretty easily and rebuild. Either way, if you feel Sean Payton is that good of a coach, it is worth it. History shows he is worth it. The last few coaches traded for a 1st rounder were Gruden-SB, Parcells last time Jets had sustained success, and Belicheck- multiple SB. However, it is entertaining to see the backflips people are doing to be absolutely miserable. Every franchise has gone through a down period, Denver will come out of this, let's just try not to be such a negative and miserable fan base.

I don't think anyone is setting themselves up to be miserable. The Broncos have been a rudderless ship for a number of years, and there's a (justified) fear that it will continue. I am of the opinion that I'd like to see sustained success from the franchise, not a series of all in moves designed to win once in a short window and suck again for years after.

The Broncos do not, in my opinion, have the luxury of trading even more premium picks for a coach, particularly one who bailed on his last franchise and left them in cap hell. Payton is a very good coach, I am not denying that. But when you sacrifice all of the assets that can realistically keep you competitive over a 3-year period, it's still a worrisome proposition.

Like I said, this move signals all in. I expect the Broncos to be better offensively next year because it would be hard to be worse. But paying the astronomical price of 3 1sts and 3 2nds for a coach and a QB means you expect sustained success out of that pairing. Do we have a complete enough team to feel that way? My point is that many fans' patience is wearing thin. The team has puttered around for 8 years post SB with no winning record to show for it. We've tried every possible method to find success. This is the "drink your way out of alcoholism" approach - we're throwing a ton of assets at guys hoping for results. If that's the move, then you better win.

Oddly enough, we've tried everything but committing to a bottom up rebuild and it's left us nowhere but purgatory since the SB win. That's a franchise failure. So, as I said, I am simply saying that if we are doing this, there are no excuses, and this needs to be an AFCCG team next year. Anything less, and I think it's a failure.

[Dbrog24]

9 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

this needs to be an AFCCG team next year. Anything less, and I think it's a failure.

That's really what these trades come down to right? There are two reasons teams trade the amount of assets we have; to "win now" or to set up for the future. I think it's fair to say Wilson was an attempt to win now. Payton remains to be seen. Is he just here for the next two years to try to "fix wilson" or is he more in it for the long haul and rebuild that will come after. If it's the latter, I'm actually not bummed about this trade as it will bring us back the culture we have needed for the past 8 years

[AnAngryAmerican]

5 hours ago, broncos67 said:

I'm not dampening my expectations whatsoever, even if I should. Paying the price of 3 first rounders and 3 second rounders for a QB and a coach means I expect to win the division and be in the AFCCG next year. That's what a price that steep should give us. Anything less is failure and everyone should be fired. Am I being impatient? Sure am, but that's what the Broncos owner said about himself.

There should be no patience here because the FO/Ownership have pushed chips to the middle of the table for an established veteran QB and high-end coach. You don't get a grace period under those circumstances. If we were paying that premium for a rookie QB, it's a different discussion, but we didn't.

Payton needs to hire an experienced staff immediately. The FO needs to approach any player worth their salt and talk about contract restructuring and cap space maneuvering. No excuses - that's my theme for this year. The team has firmly staked their belief to Payton in such a way that tells fans they believe this team can win now. 

I agree with every last gosh darned word of this post. My feelings are identical. 

The Walmarts this year and George last year wanted to go big, they went big, and now with a veteran coach who damn well better hire a veteran staff and a veteran QB - anything less than a deep playoff run should be considered a disappointment with people losing their jobs as a result.

It’s not like we can build for the future - we traded our premium picks - so go win now. Kill it in free agency, do restructures, see if guys like Dre’Mont and Risner will take hometown discounts (like Elway got Wolfe and CHJ to do to win SB50) to stay and win. 

It’s needs to be Super Bowl or bust the next two to three years. I don’t want to hear anything other than that from Sean, from George or from the Walmarts. 

Criticize Elway all you want for 2016-21, but he knew he had a short window with Peyton and the vets and he went all in. It worked. I expect nothing less than that from the Walmarts. 

[AnAngryAmerican]

This is interesting here, this is journalism, this is NOT repeating the party line from team officials (see Klis’ and Schefter’s bogus reports that Payton was the Walmarts’ top choice all along 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣), this is actually doing the work and looking into things at a deeper level. 

If Evero gets passed over for Vic as DC, the Vikings will be ready, as will many other teams as staffs are filled out (Kyle’s Niners have an opening, for example). And it’s not a one way street, Evero has to decide if he can coach under a) someone he doesn’t know and b) under owners who fired his best friend. 

I wouldn’t blame EE for leaving - in light of the above - but I would hope that they all, Sean most especially, put on the proverbial full court press to retain him. 

[Broncofan]

12 minutes ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

This is interesting here, this is journalism, this is NOT repeating the party line from team officials (see Klis’ and Schefter’s bogus reports that Payton was the Walmarts’ top choice all along 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣), this is actually doing the work and looking into things at a deeper level. 

If Evero gets passed over for Vic as DC, the Vikings will be ready, as will many other teams as staffs are filled out (Kyle’s Niners have an opening, for example). And it’s not a one way street, Evero has to decide if he can coach under a) someone he doesn’t know and b) under owners who fired his best friend. 

I wouldn’t blame EE for leaving - in light of the above - but I would hope that they all, Sean most especially, put on the proverbial full court press to retain him. 

Given that he's under contract and they blocked a lateral interview, so long as EE is the choice, I suspect the ownership will work hard to push Evero to stay.   If nothing else, a raise and a promise by Payton to let Evero run the D, and probably have a junior AC be groomed as the 2024 successor should Evero get hired as HC, makes total sense.  

EE could say no thanks - but he's also under contract.   Judging by how ownership blocked the first DC interview, they seem committed to the idea of keeping Evero.    It's seldom seen in football, but you wonder how much Penner & co.'s business background comes in, where they're used to keeping ppl under contract, personal feelings be damned.    Ultimately, I think it comes down to Payton signing off, and ownership working out a raise/olive branch to Evero...but also holding his rights.    Payton could make this moot by saying he wants someone else, but the silence here seems to suggest they're trying to find a way to keep Evero.  Guess we'll see how this turns out.

Obviously this is a all moot if ARI or IND wants him as HC now, but doesn't seem that way.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Broncofan

[grizmo78]

If I were Evero and didn't get a HC gig and got passed over in Denver for Vic, I'd go to the 49ers and learn from Shanny. Not only is the defense loaded with talent so you can continue to succeed, but what we all really like about his current background is all the great defensive minds he has worked under. If he can build a similar resume for HCing, that could be the best thing for him going forward.

[AnAngryAmerican]

The wife made a good point - her first ever - earlier when she and we were talking about the Payton hire. 

At the most bare bones level - we have a real HC for the first time since Gary Kubiak and the last time we had a real HC we won the Super Bowl.  

[7DnBrnc53]

3 hours ago, AnAngryAmerican said:

The wife made a good point - her first ever - earlier when she and we were talking about the Payton hire. 

At the most bare bones level - we have a real HC for the first time since Gary Kubiak and the last time we had a real HC we won the Super Bowl.  

And, I think that Payton is a better play caller. When he was here last, Kubiak wouldn't stick with things that worked. For example, against the Pats in 2016, they ran a no-huddle and got a FG, and he never did that again. Maybe Gary did that because he knew he was a lame-duck coach, but I don't know if he was ever as good as Payton at that. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by 7DnBrnc53

[champ11]

It seems petty to be talking about "all-in" when Russell Wilson is kind of a sunk cost? We saw that he was about a bottom 5 QB last season lol. Just seems like kind of a crazy line of thinking to me. 

If Payton can turn Russ into a solid QB ... that's a win. I feel like wanting the Broncos to win the division title is a bit unrealistic. The Broncos made a terrible trade and extension for Russell Wilson, a terrible coaching hire, and then had to spend compensation on making a good coaching hire. I don't know if it's wise to adjust expectations on sunk cost moves. 

IDK. This team stunk last year. They used a first round pick and pick swap to get the best coach on the board - a type of hire that they have needed. I guess I'm not that worked up about "win now" and mostly happy the Broncos have a legit head coach for the first time in 7 years.  

[Broncofan]

41 minutes ago, champ11 said:

It seems petty to be talking about "all-in" when Russell Wilson is kind of a sunk cost? We saw that he was about a bottom 5 QB last season lol. Just seems like kind of a crazy line of thinking to me. 

If Payton can turn Russ into a solid QB ... that's a win. I feel like wanting the Broncos to win the division title is a bit unrealistic. The Broncos made a terrible trade and extension for Russell Wilson, a terrible coaching hire, and then had to spend compensation on making a good coaching hire. I don't know if it's wise to adjust expectations on sunk cost moves. 

IDK. This team stunk last year. They used a first round pick and pick swap to get the best coach on the board - a type of hire that they have needed. I guess I'm not that worked up about "win now" and mostly happy the Broncos have a legit head coach for the first time in 7 years.  

If Payton stays for 6-7 years minimum and restores the stability and success we enjoyed before, absolutely.   If that happens then it’s a W even without a SB.    ESP if he’s around for the next QB and develops him. 
 

The major caveat though is Payton left NO when the true rebuild phase was upon them.  That’s the fear.   We don’t even know how long the contract is for.   Given it’s only the owners money I’d hope to see a 6-7 year deal and not a 3-4 year deal - so we control his rights if he wants to pull a NO V2.  
 

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Broncofan

[champ11]

25 minutes ago, Broncofan said:

If Payton stays for 6-7 years minimum and restores the stability and success we enjoyed before, absolutely.   ESP if he’s around for the next QB and develops him. 
 

The major caveat though is Payton left NO when the true rebuild phase was upon them.  That’s the fear.   We don’t even know how long the contract is for.   Given it’s only the owners money I’d hope to see a 6-7 year deal and not a 3-4 year deal - so we control his rights if he wants to pull a NO V2.  
 

 

For sure. And goes without saying Payton could be a disaster in Denver based on our track record lol