Broncos HC Sean Payton's Seat Could be Warming Up

The Denver Broncos are on pace to total fewer wins than they did in 2022.

Denver Broncos fans have every reason to be frustrated right now. The Broncos are 1-4, despite the only quality team they've faced thus far being the Miami Dolphins — the team that dropped 70 points.

While the seats that Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and GM George Paton occupy are getting hotter by the day, there's another individual whose seat could be heating up.

That's none other than the head coach, Sean Payton.

It's true that the Broncos' defensive ineptitude has played a big role in the team's 1-4 record. And, yes, the defensive ineptitude falls at the feet of Joseph.

However, as our own Luke Patterson said a while back, Joseph didn't hire himself. That decision falls on Payton.

Furthermore, the Broncos going three-and-out on four consecutive second-half drives against the New York Jets, plus running a trick play after recovering a muffed punt, doesn't fall on Joseph's shoulders. Joseph runs the defense but not the offense. The latter falls on Payton.

And it's more than the inability of the offense to get drives going, regardless of what the defense does or doesn't do. Players are often going through the motions, not giving full effort, regardless of the situation.

Perhaps the game that should have alerted everyone to those issues was the home loss to the Washington Commanders. The Broncos built a large lead and were doing well until Russell Wilson fumbled the ball while the Broncos were driving. The Commanders recovered, then things fell apart, and the score only looked close because of a Hail Mary catch for a touchdown.

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One issue that's bigger than who's running the offense or defense is who's making sure players stay motivated and bounce back when mistakes happen. Back when Joseph was head coach in 2017 and 2018, it was fair to blame him for not getting players to bounce back.

But Joseph isn't the head coach now. That responsibility falls on Payton, and that's where the buck stops when it comes to holding players accountable.

Parting ways with Randy Gregory was one thing, but as Sunday's game showed, it wasn't enough. Some players are still giving less than full effort, while others are letting mistakes get to them and linger when they need to move past miscues.

It's true that the Broncos gave up multiple picks to hire Payton. However, that doesn't mean his job is perfectly safe. He was brought on board to at least make the Broncos more competitive. 

Instead, the Broncos are looking like a team that could finish with fewer wins than they did in 2022, and given how tough the schedule is about to become, the team could be facing even more lopsided outcomes.

Recall that Payton wasn't even the Broncos' first choice to be head coach, per some reports at the time. The evidence suggests the Walton/Penner group may have had Jim Harbaugh, DeMeco Ryans, and Dan Quinn higher on the list. When all three pulled out of the running, Broncos ownership seemed to believe it needed to stick by its promises of a splashy hire. 

Thus far, that splash has been more like what happens when you fall face-first into a large puddle.

As painful as it may be to go through yet another head coaching search, especially after giving up draft capital, the more the Broncos stumble, the more Payton's tenure could be questioned, much like Joseph and Paton.

That might be especially true if the Broncos go into a full rebuild — a reality that's becoming harder to deny with each passing week. Perhaps Payton will do something in the coming weeks to give Broncos fans at least a flicker of hope. 

But if not, Payton may join others in being shown the door at season's end.

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