Sean Payton Wanted Joe Brady As His Next Offensive Coordinator
Sean Payton enters a crucial offseason after his team was eliminated in the AFC Championship Game, falling pathetically to the New England Patriots. He has already made multiple staff changes, most notably firing Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi, who was with Payton since his time with the New Orleans Saints.
Ian Rapoport put out an interesting report today, revealing that Payton wanted to bring in Joe Brady, who became the Bills’ head coach today, as his next offensive coordinator. The even bigger caveat with this report is that if Brady were to come to Denver, he might take over play-calling. This is huge news, and Payton could be on the verge of making a big change in Denver.
Payton Wanted Joe Brady
Brady was one of the hottest names on the market, and Payton had interest in hiring him to be a part of his staff. James Palmer of The Athletic reported that the two actually spoke a couple of days ago. Payton is clearly unhappy with how the offense has performed this year, and more so with his play calling, which has been subpar in his tenure with the Broncos.
Firing Lombardi signaled that he isn’t messing around and wants a new right-hand man on the sidelines moving forward. They have a relationship that spans over a decade, back to the days in New Orleans. Lombardi was the guy Payton trusted to help develop Drew Brees into an elite player. He was also the guy Payton brought in immediately to Denver back in 2023.
As for Brady, the two also have a connection. Brady served as an offensive assistant under Payton with the New Orleans Saints from 2017 to 2018, his first job in the NFL. Brady served as the Bills’ quarterbacks coach in 2022 and was promoted to interim offensive coordinator in November 2023. He became the permanent offensive coordinator in 2024, calling plays for the last two seasons.
Will There Be a New Play Caller?
With Brady now off the board, it will be interesting to see who Payton chooses to be his offensive coordinator. While there’s no guarantee that Payton will give up play-calling duties, it is definitely something to monitor as they conduct their search. If he doesn’t take a head coaching job, it looks like Davis Webb is the leading candidate for the job. Webb was brought in as the quarterbacks coach in 2023 and was promoted to offensive pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2025.
He has played an integral role in the development of Bo Nix and has drawn significant interest from teams around the league. He remains in the mix for the Raiders’ head coaching job and also has interviews with theEagles, Giants, and Ravens for their offensive coordinator jobs. With Lombardi out, Payton could be offering Webb yet another promotion to become the offensive coordinator with a chance to call plays and win a Super Bowl in Denver.
Denver Will Start Its Search
I assume we will start to get the list of potential candidates for Denver’s offensive coordinator job fairly soon. Payton is bound to cast a wide net, but I truly do think he wants Webb to take over. Payton won just one ring with one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, Brees, and didn’t make major offensive changes during his time with the Saints. Now that Nix is here, he likely wants to avoid making the same mistake with the championship window wide open, and Nix’s career just beginning.
Nix is the franchise, and Webb is a big reason why Nix has had so much success early on in his career. Payton knows he can’t be stubborn and keep calling his old-school style plays that involve constant screen passes. Instead, he should push the ball downfield and let Nix show off his cannon of an arm.
