WATCH: Sean Payton introduced as Broncos head coach
The Broncos introduced Sean Payton as the team’s 20th coach after he signed a 5-year contract.
Led by co-owner and CEO Greg Penner, the Broncos conducted a 37-day search after firing Nathaniel Hackett Dec. 26. Payton was always considered one of the top candidates due to his prior success in coaching the Saints for 15 seasons.
Scroll down for notes from the press conference.
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Greg Penner cites “accountability” and “discipline” as two factors that drew the Broncos to Sean Payton.
“We have the perfect coach in Sean Payton,” Penner says.
“It is my privilege and honor to welcome the new coach of the Broncos, Sean Payton,” Penner says.
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“Someone’s going to ask the question: Why did you get back in, Coach?'” Payton says.
Payton says it was his wife, Skylene, who encouraged him to return to coaching.
Payton’s wife, daughter Meghan and son Connor are in attendance. Meghan is a Pepperdine graduate, Connor is a student at TCU.
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Payton describes the interview process.
“My first meeting with Greg and George and Ms. Condi… went for 4.5 hours. It was fantastic,” Payton says.
“On one of the FOX broadcasts, I said it pretty clearly: Ownership was important to me,” Payton says.
“What I knew for 16 years was it was functional and it supportive and it was teamwork at its best,” Payton says of his time with the Saints.
“I think the second-most important thing to me was, ‘Is football important here?'” Payton says. “And obviously it is.”
Payton is entering his 35th year coaching football, 24 seasons at the NFL level.
Payton says he sought a job with the a stable and consistent “triangle”: front office, ownership and a passionate fanbase.
Payton said negotiations with the Saints lasted 3-4 days. The Broncos had to make a trade with the Saints for Payton’s rights.
Payton says his coaching staff is a work in progress.
“I’ll probably not answer any of those questions (about potential assistants),” Payton jokes.
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Why leave a cushy TV job for a coaching challenge?
“There’s nothing that replaced the feeling of winning,” Payton says.
Payton says “winning the draft” and “winning the press conference” are secondary to his goal.
“More importantly it’s (about) winning in the fall and building a championship (team),” he says.
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Payton describes his ideal coach-general manager relationship. He’s seated alongside Broncos GM George Paton.
“Compatibility is the goal with our staff,” Payton says.
“You don’t have to have a good sense of humor, but you have to be able to laugh at yourself,” Payton says.
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Payton discusses his relationship with Russell Wilson.
“We (Saints) played them quite a bit because we were both playoff teams in the NFC,” Payton says.
“I’m learning about every one of these players, not just Russell,” Payton says.
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What about Year 1 with the Broncos?
“I don’t like making predictions, because I think there’s so much that goes into it,” Payton says.
“I think it’s realistic for our fanbase to expect a different culture,” Payton adds.
“I know this: the work has started,” Payton says.
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George Paton, the general manager, describes the getting-to-know-you process with Payton: “It was easy.”
“We have a lot of work to do,” Paton says.
The GM adds, “The work starts today.”
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Paton says he has evolved since he began as the 42-year-old first-year coach of the Saints, but the objective has stayed the same: “To win, to win and to win again.”
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George Paton says he’s pleased with the Payton trade: “Win for the Broncos, win for the Saints.”
Penner denies a report the Broncos were in pursuit of now-Texans coach DeMeco Ryans as they were wrapping up the Payton negotiations.
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On the first day Payton could be interviewed, Jan. 17, Greg Penner and George Paton arrived first thing in the morning.
“I knew that (meant) something,” Payton says.
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The Denver Gazette’s George Stoia asks Payton if his wearing an orange tie on FOX was on purpose, a not-so-subtle announcement he would be taking the Broncos’ job.
Payton confirmed: “It did.”
Payton also confirms Russell Wilson called him during the search process. He says Wilson and Drew Brees are neighbors in Del Mar, Calif.
Newly hired Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, left, shakes hands with Owner and Chief Executive Officer Greg Penner before speaking at the podium during an introductory press conference on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, at the UCHealth Training Center in Centennial, Colo.(Timothy Hurst/The Denver Gazette)
A screen with new Broncos head coach Sean Payton is displayed behind a table with helmets before an introductory news conference Monday at the UCHealth Training Center in Centennial.
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton celebrating after the Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts to win the Super Bowl, in Miami, Feb. 7, 2010.
Newly hired Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, left, shakes hands with Owner and Chief Executive Officer Greg Penner before speaking at the podium during an introductory press conference on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, at the UCHealth Training Center in Centennial, Colo.(Timothy Hurst/The Denver Gazette)