Sean Payton made a point of getting to the Superdome long before he normally would for a game — six hours before kickoff — so he could ease into his emotional return to a place where he coached on the home sideline for a decade and a half. His return to New Orleans was made better by seeing his current team, the Denver Broncos, win handily.
“Coming back here is different and kind of special,” Payton said.
“To be with this team and this ownership group — it’s the reason you miss it. One year out, and you miss the relationships. You miss making memories. … Being around young people and having a chance to be part of their journey and coach them is a pretty good job. I’m thankful for it. Yeah, it was kind of emotional.”
Payton received the game ball from his team after the double-digit win, which he shared “meant a lot” to him.
Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix passed for 164 yards and ran for 75 yards for Denver (4-3), which dominated statistically. The Broncos outgained the Saints 389 yards to 271 while sending New Orleans (2-5) to its fifth straight defeat. Broncos RB Javonte Williams punched in two scores and LB Cody Barton returned a fumble 52 yards for a score in the 33-10 victory.
“It was awesome. The Saints mean a lot to him. He was there for a while and had amazing success,” Nix said, alluding to Payton’s franchise-high 152 regular-season victories with the Saints from 2006 to 2021, and his Super Bowl-winning season in 2009. “I’m happy for him.”
Denver’s defense, which ranked fourth in the NFL in yards allowed heading into Thursday’s tilt, finished with six sacks.
During halftime, the Saints inducted former QB and 13-time Pro Bowler Drew Brees into the franchise’s Hall of Fame. Payton, Brees’ head coach during his time with the Saints, said that it’s “always good” to see the legendary signal-caller.
In Payton’s reign as the Saints’ head coach (2006-21), they won Super Bowl XLIV, had nine 10-plus-win seasons and made the playoffs nine times. New Orleans went a combined 152-89 in the regular season and 9-8 in the postseason during his 15-season tenure (excluding the 2012 NFL season he was suspended for).
Payton stepped down as head coach following the 2021 season. He then returned to the sideline in 2023 after the Broncos traded a first- and second-round draft pick to the Saints for Payton and a third-rounder.
The Broncos went 8-9 in Payton’s first season as head coach.
Denver and New Orleans are now going in opposite directions; the Broncos have won four of their past five games, while the Saints have lost five consecutive games and are without veteran quarterback Derek Carr due to an oblique injury.
Payton’s New Orleans teams had just two losses at home by 20 points or more, something the Saints have done twice in the past five days.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen — Payton’s defensive coordinator in New Orleans — embraced his former colleague after the game. The 61-year-old Payton has now defeated all 32 NFL teams as a head coach.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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