Sean Payton Responds to Rumors of Broncos Power Struggle

Sean Payton entered the NFL offseason as the hottest name in the coaching carousel, despite the fact that the currently-retired coach is still under contract with the New Orleans Saints, and any team that signs him would technically need to trade for him from New Orleans.

Reports surfaced earlier this week that Payton's search for a new job had come to a halt as he had no second interviews scheduled. Now details about his first interview with the Denver Broncos, a job that was considered a serious potential landing spot for him, are emerging.

Mark Maske, from the Washington Post, reported that there was an issue with Payton's interview with the Broncos. Maske claimed that though Payton liked the prospect of coaching Russell Wilson and that Broncos defense, there was concerns over a potential power struggle with a member of Denver's new ownership group.

However, Payton himself quickly took to Twitter to refute those rumors, claiming there was "Zero truth" to them.

It doesn't seem curious that Payton failed to land a second interview with any team, but that could also just be team's reluctance to surrender draft picks to the Saints, or to pay Payston's huge asking price on his annual salary, a reported $20-25 million per year.

Nevertheless, Payton maintains it has nothing to do with the Broncos' brass. On the other hand, it is in Payton's best interest to take the high road and refute these claims, it's not good business to make enemies of NFL front office's as a free agent head coach, much less for a job you are interested in.

Payton also could have said nothing and let this run it's course in the news cycle. For now, it's hard not to just take Payton at his word, but we will most likely never confirm the full truth. Even if Payton is hired by the Broncos, that doesn't mean there wasn't a stife during negotiations.

Payton's coaching prospects continue to be a main storyline of the offseason and will continue that way as long as a head coaching job remains open in the NFL.

David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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