Sean Payton’s waiting game for defensive coordinator is confounding
Feb 22, 2023, 12:37 PM
“The Way-ay-ting is the hardest part,” Tom Petty once crooned in his 1981 hit.
When it comes to Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton selecting a defensive coordinator, Petty may have wanted to belt out, “The choo – woo – zing is confusing my brain.”
Contestants on the bachelor have an easier time selecting roses than what is happening in Broncos Country. What exactly is the hold-up?
DeMeco Ryans will lead the Texans’ defense as their newly named head coach, so his one big hire was offensive coordinator. He chose Bobby Slowik, who worked with him in San Francisco.
Jonathan Gannon will lead the Cardinals’ defense as their newly named head coach, so his one big hire was offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who is getting his first shot as an OC. In addition, Gannon also hired Nick Rallis as a Defensive Coordinator. Rallis will likely be learning on the job as an assistant to Gannon as Justin Outten did as OCINO (offensive coordinator in name only) with ex-Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett last year.
Frank Reich is the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers. He has already snatched Ejiro Evero away from Denver.
Philadelphia lost Gannon as their defensive coordinator and now they seem poised to offer that position to Vance Joseph. VJ, who was unceremoniously fired by the Broncos. He is also a candidate for the same position in Denver…I think. Joseph spent eight hours in the Broncos facility on Friday only to be allowed to leave later that night. It is now mid-week and Joseph has gone through two rounds of interviews with the Eagles.
The Colts hired Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as the new coaching boss and he quickly enlisted Jim Bob Cooter who may have given up his job in Hazzard County at the Boar’s Nest to be the Colts OC. Gus Bradley is a veteran coach and is still on staff as the DC, so he may not be going anywhere.
And then….there’s the Broncos.
At first, Vic Fangio was connected to Payton.
Fangio is now the DC with Miami.
Next Sean Desai, a Fangio disciple, was in the mix. On the surface, this looked to be a perfect first time DC. well…i guess not.
Then there was what amounted to be a ceremonial interview with Evero. How many ways can the best coach on last year’s Broncos team turn down jobs in Denver?!? As mentioned before, Coach E is with the Panthers.
Kris Richard was connected to the job and that made sense as he worked with Payton. Maybe there was animosity in the lunchroom because there is no word about Richard coming aboard. VJ came into play and now is dreaming of cheesesteaks.
Speaking of fun food, Payton surprised the world with his interest in TV Personality Rex Ryan. Sexy Rexy had interest from…let’s count…oh yeah….one team. He made it be known through Adam Schefter that he would only leave his cushy TV gig for the “Perfect Situation.” Uh huh. Sure. I’m guessing a couple of bucks and unlimited Chick-fil-A coupons could seal that deal.
There is a narrative that this hiring process is an example of Payton being meticulous. He said so himself at his introductory news conference claiming he would be, “slow to hire and quick to fire.” I understand patience, but the Mesozoic Era thinks this is taking a long time. Somehow every single other team in the league has made a decision, but Payton is the smart one?
The difference between meticulous and confused is a fuzzy line. The chaos demands Ryan be hired. Logic would’ve had you do whatever it took to hang onto Evero. Confusion about the past, would lead to VJ. Benefit of the doubt would steer you towards Desai. Friendship locks down Richard. But the truth is there isn’t a perfect candidate amongst this lot or the deal would have been signed.
The conspiracy theorist would suggest there is a mystery candidate that hasn’t been mentioned in this mix. What else could it be at this late juncture? The truth is there isn’t an experienced better candidate out there who hasn’t at least been out of action for a few years. Chuck Pagano, Marvin Lewis or Mike Zimmer all fit in that nebulous category of “maybe him?” Other than that, you would have to give a young fella his first shot.
Sean Payton is down to the wire on his hiring timeline as the NFL combine starts next week and other assistant coaches are getting plucked up left and right.
104.3 The Fan morning co-host and man about town if town was his lawn, Mark Schlereth said he had dinner with a friend who was interviewing for the Broncos linebackers coach job. Uh…what? How can you hire a linebackers coach without the defensive coordinator signing off on it in the first place? Is Stink’s buddy the mystery candidate?
If Sean Payton is gonna pull a rabbit out of his hat with “the right candidate” he better have one heck of a trick up his sleeve because right now it appears he’s sawing a woman in half with a butter knife. I mean…it will happen—eventually.
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