We as a society don’t agree on a lot of things, but I think we all agree that paying people to hurt other (innocent) people is bad. Right? Then why did the Broncos and their fans admire the man who paid his players to injure other players, Sean Payton?
My hate for Sean goes past the Saints’s bountygate scandal. But let’s start on that. According to CNN, “The New Orleans Saints admitted… to paying bonuses for hits that would knock opposing players out of a game” and “Saints Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis said they take ‘full responsibility’ for the practice, which they said ‘happened under our watch.’” A head coach should never encourage his players to injure others or cheat, and in my opinion shouldn’t be allowed to coach. The NFL didn’t agree, however, because Sean was only suspended for a year.
Let’s go past that. Everybody deserves a second chance, right? I also think that Sean Payton is flat out not that good of a coach. In New Orleans, he did win a ring (while the bounty program was still intact, I might add). Some (including me) would say this is a cheated ring because the bountygate is a significant and illegal boost. Regardless, other than that season he has not won more than one playoff game in a season. Prime Drew Brees was a beast, and Payton did not end up having a great deal of success with him.
Payton’s stint with the Broncos is the most revealing for his coaching. From the start, he did not want Russell Wilson, and purposefully drove him out. There was no attempt to work it out with Russ at all. I will admit that Wilson’s first season as a Bronco was disastrous at best, but his second season showed promise. Russell is still a decent QB and this was shown as under the guidance of Mike Tomlin, Russell led the Steelers to a 10-7 season.The same record as the Broncos, despite the Steelers having a worse receiving core and a worse defense.
Speaking of defense, the Broncos had a top 5 defense this past year. Sean is an offensive coach, so he was not to credit for this elite defense. All the credit goes to Vance Joseph. You would think a top 5 defense would end up better than 3rd in their division, but no. The mediocre Broncos offense, headed by Payton, could not do such a thing.
In general, Sean Payton is a cheater who would go so far as injuring players and ending their careers. To top that, he has been regressing since his Super bowl win (that has an asterisk), being a mediocre coach with way too much clout and front office control.
