Sean Payton enters his first season with the Denver Broncos after being named the 20th head coach in franchise history on Feb. 3, 2023.
A 34-year coaching veteran, Payton has 24 seasons of NFL experience. He served as head coach of the New Orleans Saints for 15 seasons (2006-11, '13-21) while also spending time with the Dallas Cowboys (2003-05), New York Giants (1999-2002) and Philadelphia Eagles (1997-98).
During his 15-year run with New Orleans, Payton led the Saints to nine playoff berths, seven NFC South titles and a World Championship in 2009 after defeating the Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. He posted a 152-89 (.631) regular-season record and totaled nine postseason wins during his tenure.
Payton owns the Saints' top win total and winning percentage, and his 152 regular-season wins rank sixth among active head coaches, trailing only Bill Belichick (298), Andy Reid (247), Mike Tomlin (163), Pete Carroll (161) and Mike McCarthy (155). He produced nine seasons with 10-or-more wins and led New Orleans to the No. 1 seed in the NFC on two occasions (2009, '18).
Presiding over one of the NFL's most productive offenses, the Saints led the league in net yards six times (2006, '08-09, '11, '14, '16) and registered the top scoring offense in back-to-back years from 2008-09. New Orleans produced a Top-10 scoring offense 12 times in a 15-year span from 2006-20.
Payton coached 12 different players to a combined 15 Associated Press first-team All-Pro selections, including guard Jahri Evans (3) and wide receiver Michael Thomas (2), who earned multiple All-Pro nods. Under his watch, 26 players earned a total of 68 Pro Bowl selections, with quarterback Drew Brees (11), defensive end Cameron Jordan (7), Evans (5) and running back Alvin Kamara (5) garnering at least five Pro Bowl honors.
Playing 15 seasons in Payton's offense, Brees posted Pro Football Hall of Fame numbers, completing 6,017-of-8,742 passes (68.8%) for 68,010 yards with 491 touchdowns and 190 interceptions (101.5 rtg). In that 15-year period, Brees ranked first in completions, completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns, while posting the fifth-highest passer rating.
Brees passed for at least 4,000 yards in 11 seasons (2006-11; '13-17) and passed for 5,000 yards in four of those years under Payton. He was named the Sporting News Player of the Year in consecutive years (2008-09) and nabbed Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year honors twice (2008, '11).
In addition to winning Super Bowl XLIV, Payton's tenure in New Orleans was highlight by winning four consecutive NFC South titles from 2017-20. The Saints were the only NFC South team—and third NFC franchise—since the divisional realignment in 2002 to capture four straight division titles.
New Orleans recorded at least 11 wins in each of those four seasons and accumulated a 49-15 (.766) record. The club capped the four-year run by going 12-4 in 2020 and clinching its fourth straight playoff berth for the first time in team history.
Despite missing Brees for five contests due to injury, Payton coached the 2019 Saints to a 13-3 mark while setting the NFL record for fewest turnovers (8) in a single season. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater started in place of Brees from Weeks 3-7 and passed for 1,205 yards on 115-of-165 passing (69.7%) with nine touchdowns and two interceptions (103.7 rtg).
From 2009-13, Payton led New Orleans to playoff appearances in four of the five seasons, including three straight from 2009-11. He guided the Saints back to the postseason in 2013 after finishing the regular season with an 11-5 record and a perfect 8-0 mark at home for the second time in three years.
In 2011, the Saints' offense produced a record-setting year, totaling a single-season NFL record 7,474 net yards along with 547 points, which was the fourth-highest total at the time. Brees also set single-season NFL records at the time for completions (468), completion percentage (71.2) and passing yards (5,476).
En route to a Super Bowl title in 2009, Payton guided New Orleans to a 13-3 record and its second NFC South title in four seasons. The 13 wins set a franchise record for most regular-season victories in a single season.
The Saints, who began the 2009 season on a 13-game winning streak, finished the year with the NFL's top-ranked offense for the second straight year. The defensed produced the third-most interceptions (26) and returned a league-leading five picks for touchdowns.
Following a first-round bye, New Orleans averaged 35.6 points in postseason play and scored 30 or more points in all three games. The Saints scored a franchise-record 45 points against Arizona, beating the Cardinals 45-14 in the divisional round.
After beating Minnesota 31-28 in the NFC Championship Game, New Orleans went on to defeat Indianapolis 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV.
On Jan. 18, 2006, Payton was hired as the 14th head coach in Saints history. In his first season at the helm, Payton guided New Orleans to a 10-6 record and its first division title since 2000.
Prior to New Orleans, Payton spent three seasons (2003-05) as the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach with the Dallas Cowboys under Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Bill Parcells.
Dallas amassed a 25-23 (.521) record during his three seasons there and made one postseason appearance. Payton worked with three different starting quarterbacks during his tenure, coaching Quincy Carter (2003), Vinny Testaverde (2004) and Drew Bledsoe (2005).
Preceding his time with the Cowboys, Payton spent four seasons with the New York Giants, performing the role of quarterbacks coach (1999) and offensive coordinator (2000-02). The Giants collected a 36-28 (.563) record during his four seasons and won double-digit games in 2000 and 2002.
Payton was part of a coaching staff that led the Giants to Super Bowl in 2000 and a 12-4 record. The Giants beat Philadelphia 20-10 in the NFC Divisional round and Minnesota 41-0 in the NFC Conference Championship before losing to the Baltimore 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV.
Payton began his NFL coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he served as quarterbacks coach for two seasons from 1997-98. He coached Koy Detmer, Bobby Hoying and Rodney Peete, who all appeared in double-digit games during those two seasons.
Before the NFL, Payton coached nine seasons at the collegiate level (1988-1996), working for four institutions. He was quarterbacks coach for the University of Illinois (1996) after serving as offensive coordinator at Miami University (OH) from 1994-95.
In his second stint at San Diego State (1992-93), Payton performed the role of running backs coach, where he worked with Heisman Trophy runner up and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk. Payton spent the 1990 and 1991 seasons at Indiana State University, coaching running backs and wide receivers.
Payton began his coaching career in 1988, where he served as an offensive assistant for the Aztecs for two seasons.
The three-time Associated Press All-American selection played professionally in 1987 following four seasons at Eastern Illinois University from 1982-86. He had stints with the Chicago Bears, Chicago Bruins (Arena Football League) and Ottawa Rough Riders (Canadian Football League).
During his time at Eastern Illinois, Payton played quarterback and totaled 10,665 passing yards in his career, which, at the time, was the third-largest total in NCAA Division-I history. He was inducted into the Eastern Illinois Hall of Fame in 2000 and had his jersey retired during a ceremony in 2010.
Payton earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Eastern Illinois and received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater in 2013. Born Dec. 29, 1963, in San Mateo, Calif., Sean Payton is married to Skylene. He has one daughter, Meghan, and one son, Connor.
Head Coach 2006-11; '13-21
Offensive Coordinator 2012
Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks 2003-05
Offensive Coordinator 2000-02
Offensive Coordinator 1994-95
Offensive assistant 1988-89
Running backs/wide receivers 1990-91
