What is incoming coach Sean Payton’s plan to fix downtrodden Denver?

New coach comes to Denver to fix Wilson and Broncos

Sean Payton is no stranger to repairing broken quarterbacks.

The new Broncos coach has built his reputation on it, most notably with Drew Brees in New Orleans. Payton and Brees were one of the best coach-quarterback duos in the NFL for 15 years, after Brees signed with New Orleans in 2006 when the Chargers opted to move on from an injured Brees, who was replaced by Phillip Rivers. The two went on to win a Super Bowl together, with Brees becoming one of the most prolific quarterbacks in league history, totaling 12 Pro Bowls in his 15 seasons with the Saints.

Now Payton, who was officially hired by the Broncos Friday, hopes he can replicate that success with Russell Wilson in Denver.

“To me, this is set up to be Russell Wilson’s prime — especially with Sean Payton and a system that’s going to be built around him,” Brees told ESPN. “This is a great opportunity for Russell Wilson.”

Since the end of the 2022-23 season for the Broncos, which ended as one of the worst in franchise history at 5-12, the narrative around Wilson has been — can he be fixed? Wilson statistically had the worst season of his career, with a career-low in completion percentage at 60.5% and touchdowns with 16, and he totaled 11 interceptions, which is tied for the second most in a season in his career. For the first time in his 11 years in the NFL, Wilson didn’t look like a nine-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion — in fact, he looked like one of the worst quarterbacks in the league.

That’s why this coaching search was crucial. Not only did the Broncos need to find someone to change the overall culture in Denver, but someone to revive Wilson’s career, which the Broncos have tied themselves to with a five-year, $245 million contract.

“It’s really important that whoever we hire has a relationship with the quarterback — Russ,” Broncos GM George Paton said Dec. 27.

While the Broncos didn’t hire Payton just to fix Wilson, it certainly helps that the two know each other well from competing against each other and meeting at several Pro Bowls. Given Payton’s track record, he seems to be the best option to “fix” Wilson. And the Broncos are betting on Payton and Wilson to work, having now given up three first-round picks, three second-round picks and four NFL players — OLB Bradley Chubb, QB Drew Lock, DL Shelby Harris and TE Noah Fant — for the pairing.

“He’s one of the world’s best, obviously, a guy who has coached a Hall of Fame quarterback in Drew Brees, who was one of my closest friends,” Wilson said Jan. 8. “He’s competitive as can be, he’s a winner and obviously won a Super Bowl, and then at the highest level, I was able to be around him at the Pro Bowl and just the wizardry that you would have on the field was just magnificent.

“He’s competitive as can be and he knows how to push guys at the ultimate level.”

How Payton approaches repairing Wilson will be fascinating. His offensive scheme is one that several quarterbacks have found success, not just Brees.

Both Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston had impressive stretches under Payton’s direction after Brees retired. The success of Bridgewater and Winston in his offense showed Payton’s willingness to adjust and adapt his offense to the players he has.

And many believe Payton’s offensive scheme, which has had 12 top 10 finishes in points per game, can re-ignite Wilson. What Payton’s offense looks like in Denver may not look the same as it did New Orleans — Brees was considered one of the best pocket passers in the NFL, while Wilson proved last year he’s much better outside the pocket.

But that doesn’t mean Payton doesn’t have a plan for Wilson.

“You correct flaws immediately,” Payton said in an interview with Colin Cowherd. “We don’t worry about how long the process is going to take, in other words, I’d want to cut up all of Russell’s pass plays of thirty or more yards from the field — I’d want to see are there some schemes that he felt very comfortable with. They did a great job in Seattle of bringing him off the naked boot and then pulling up.

“What I’m asking for from assistants is some of his [ Wilson’s] greatest hits and to make sure that we have those song lyrics available and if not — let’s put them in.”

Well, if 2022 was an album, it was Wilson’s worst. And a large part of that was likely due to his producer, Nathaniel Hackett. The Wilson-Hackett relationship was a failure on many levels, mostly because they tried to make Wilson something he isn’t.

That won’t happen under Payton’s direction. And Payton isn’t going to put Wilson — or anyone else — on a pedestal. He’s going to push Wilson harder than he’s ever been pushed, and the hope is that the best version of Wilson is subsequently unlocked.

“He can speak for himself,” Brees said, “but I think the idea of having Sean Payton come for what he’s hoping is the rest of his career, I’m not sure there’s a better scenario for him.”