Seahawks Ex Russell Wilson & Sean Payton Ranked a Top 'QB & Coach Duos'?!

Former Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, who is coming off one of the all-time bust seasons in NFL history, finds himself sharing the a lofty slot with first-year Broncos coach Sean Payton.

One cannot always tell when a media guy "makes a list'' whether it is the result of serious analysis or just a way to grab eyeballs. We have such respect for the talents of Colin Cowherd that in this case - another of his always-controversial ranking lists - we are going to work on the assumption that it's the former.

But that doesn't mean the Fox Sports analyst's "top-10 head coach/quarterback duos in the NFL'' ranking is even close to being accurate.

Of course, that is part of the fun (and folly) of such lists. ... and with this one, we can all agree on the premier combo as there are no surprises at No. 1 with the top spot occupied by reigning Super Bowl champions coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

But from there on down, the list starts to get a little dicey. A bit controversial. Somewhat wildly nutty. ... especially because of the lofty perch held by former Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, who is coming off one of the all-time bust seasons in NFL history as a first-year member of the Denver Broncos ... and still finds himself sharing the No. 3 slot with first-year Broncos coach Sean Payton.

This list is about a projection to the 2023 season. So maybe following the 2022 trade from Seattle to Denver, Cowherd believes that Russ will turn it around? OK ... but then how can the Los Angeles Rams' tandem of Sean McVay/Matthew Stafford be ranked at No. 2, given the fact that the Rams are both coming off a poor season and expected to be bad again this year? The full list ...

1. Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes
2. Sean McVay/Matthew Stafford
3. Sean Payton/Russell Wilson
4. Doug Pederson/Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars.
5. John Harbaugh/Lamar Jackson of the Ravens.
6. Zac Taylor/Joe Burrow of the Bengals.
7. Nick Sirianni/Jalen Hurts of the Eagles.
8. Sean McDermott/Josh Allen of the Bills.
9. Mike McCarthy/Dak Prescott of the Cowboys.
10. Mike McDaniel/Tua Tagovailoa of the Dolphins.

There are good coaches not named here. There are good QBs not named here. But Russell Wilson's fresh track record is that he's one of the NFL's most overrated players. And Payton, it could be argued, is overrated in the sense that he's won one Super Bowl in his lifetime, and that was almost 15 years ago.

Discuss https://t.co/cDzf1UVA9T pic.twitter.com/PbP2O045OI

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 27, 2023

We're not going to make the argument for Geno Smith and Pete Carroll here, though Seahawks fans certainly might. But we'll say this: We bet that privately, not even Sean Payton himself believes that Russell Wilson is going to carry his weight in a way that justifies his placement here.

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