Payton’s situation is complicated because he’s still under contract with the Saints, who will need to grant permission for the Broncos (or any other team) to talk to Payton, 59, and work out a trade offset. Will Denver pick the draft to pull it yet Russell Wilson trade last March? And does Payton think he can work with Wilson, who is coming off the worst year of his career at 34 and has a fully guaranteed contract for two more seasons? Payton will be eclectic and not cheap.
Harbaugh, 59, said after an interview with the Vikings last year that he He would not consider returning to the NFL again. However, the Broncos are one of several teams that have been doing homework on Harbaugh, who was 44-19-1 as head coach of the 49ers from 2011-14, leading San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game three times and making appearances in Super Bowl XLVII. Condoleezza Rice, a member of the Broncos’ ownership group and search committee, has deep ties to Stanford University, where Harbaugh coached prior to his first NFL stint. Harbaugh’s full focus was on the Wolverines’ championship push; Now that it’s over after Michigan’s loss to TCU, his interest in the NFL, if any, should quickly become apparent.
Quinn, 52, was a candidate for the Broncos job last year that went to Hackett, who was fired Dec. 26 with a 4-11 record in his senior season. He is close to Broncos GM George Paton. Like Payton and Harbaugh, Quinn has prior experience and success as a head coach, having led the Falcons to an appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII during his five-plus seasons in Atlanta. The cultural shift on defense that Quinn has led in Dallas is impressive, and owner Jerry Jones will certainly do everything he can to keep Quinn around, as he did a year ago.
The Broncos also do background work on several young coaches and have said they want to meet their defensive coordinator, Ejiro Evero, who is considered a candidate elsewhere as well. Broncos owner and manager Greg Penner is new to the NFL, but he’s a well-respected business mind who impressed at the press conference announcing Hackett’s firing. The search will be conducted with Button’s assistance and the new coach will report directly to Penner.
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