Is Russell Wilson fixable?
It’s one of the big questions surrounding the Denver Broncos’ crucial 2023 offseason, and it underscores every head coaching interview the team hosts. On December 27, Broncos general manager George Paton professed his belief, and that of the team, that Wilson is “fixable.”
However, not everyone is so convinced. And as the most coveted head coaching candidates of the 2023 NFL hiring cycle ponder which opportunities to prioritize, some league circles doubt any one coach, in particular, wants to tangle with Wilson.
That would be former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. Or, at least, it is according to ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler.
Sean Payton is a good match in that he’s the best coach available and Denver — which offers stable ownership and a roster of talent — is drawn to that. But some in the league are skeptical whether Payton wants to tie his future to Russell Wilson, who struggled mightily in 2022 despite improving at the end of the year. A massive six-year deal can ease any worries if Payton wants to wait for Wilson and eventually develop another quarterback. The organization has shown little patience with head coaches, six of whom have been fired since 2009. John Fox was the only coach to last longer, and he made it to the Super Bowl. Payton could opt for more stable ground elsewhere.
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Whether Wilson is “washed” or not is a nagging question for analysts and NFL executives. Let’s not forget, however; he finished his lackluster 2022 campaign strong, throwing for 505 passing yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions, in both games after the Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett.
The implication is obvious: Hackett may not have been the alone factor holding Wilson back, but the failed head coach was partner in crime in a big way. A head coach as savvy as Payton would recognize that right away.
Plus, money talks and you-know-what works. If the billionaire Walton/Pener ownership group in Denver were of the opinion of making Payton the highest-paid head coach in NFL history and giving him, as Fowler projects, a six-year contract, it would be a strong incentive to roll up his sleeves and dive headlong into whether a 34-year-old quarterback who went to nine Pro Bowls in his first 11 seasons is washed.
When recruiting Drew Brees — a quarterback most of the NFL considered damaged merchandise in the free-agent market in 2006 — Payton was unwavering. Brees’ shoulder injury – suffered at the end of the 2005 season – was serious and career-threatening, but Wilson’s down year amid palpable incompetence as a coach will scare Payton ?
It should also be noted that Wilson knows Payton. The veteran QB gushed about his experience being coached by Payton in the Pro Bowl on Sunday.
“I was around Sean, obviously at the Pro Bowl,” Wilson said. “I’ve been around him all over the league and played against them a lot. He’s one of the best in the world, obviously, a guy who coached a Hall of Fame quarterback in Drew Brees, who was one of my closest friends and the guy who got to know through the league and so many other great players he’s competitive as he can be he’s a winner and obviously won a Super Bowl and then at highest level, I was able to be around him at the Pro Bowl and the magic you would have on the court was just magnificent.”
No doubt Wilson’s question will be a hot topic of conversation in interviews with Broncos head coaches, but I’m more inclined to view his resume, as tarnished as it has been by his 2022 campaign, as more a pro than a jerk, in the grand scheme of things. I doubt Wilson would thrill Payton, if all the other factors lined up, like his compensation package with the Broncos, and the Saints agreeing to specific terms in a trade for his rights.
The same goes for Jim Harbaugh, who is said to top the list of Broncos head coaches after interviewing the club for more than two hours on Monday night. It was a virtual interview, and the buzz that came out of it was that Harbaugh was now at the top of the Walton/Penner band’s wish list.
Denver can’t meet Payton for an in-person interview until Jan. 17, so Wilson’s question, among others, likely won’t be answered for some time to come. For now, I would caution Broncos Country against falling prey to Wilson-is-radioactive tropes in NFL media.
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