The Denver Broncos agreed Tuesday to a trade with the New Orleans Saints to make Sean Payton the 19th head coach in franchise history.
The Saints will receive the Broncos’ 2023 first-round pick (No. 29 overall) and 2024 second-round pick for Payton and the Saints’ 2024 third-round selection. The Broncos are also expected to make Payton one of the highest-paid head coaches in the league.
Because Payton had signed an extension with the Saints in 2019 that was set to run through the 2024 season, the Saints and the Broncos had to negotiate compensation for Denver to sign him as its head coach.
The Broncos had traded their first-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in last year’s blockbuster deal to acquire Russell Wilson but then acquired a first-round pick from the Dolphins in the trade that sent Bradley Chubb to Miami in November. That pick originally belonged to the San Francisco 49ers, who then sent it to Miami in the trade that allowed them to pick Trey Lance in the 2021 draft.
Payton, who was the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2006, will succeed Nathaniel Hackett, who was fired Dec. 26, the day after the Broncos’ dismal 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium that dropped Denver to 4-11. The team finished the season 5-12 as interim coach Jerry Rosburg closed out the year.
Payton was 152-89 in his 15 seasons as Saints head coach, including a win over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Payton did not coach this season and was an analyst for Fox Sports.