Broncos Mailbag: Should New Orleans’ Bountygate scandal give Denver pause on Sean Payton?

Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season. Submit questions to Parker here.

Hey Parker. Great way to end a frustrating season. Obviously it looked like Nathaniel Hackett’s scheme was holding Russell Wilson back. So why not interview Jerry Rosburg as he had them playing at a great level, had the offense clicking, and the defense did what they had to do. I know there is more to it than just what we saw the last two games, but Rosburg showed that he could coach.

— Del, Lamar

Hey Del, thanks for writing as always.

You’re right, we haven’t received any indication that the Broncos interviewed Rosburg about the full-time job. Chalk it up, I’d say, to getting exactly what they wanted out of Rosburg for the time period that they desired. He helped steady the ship in a short amount of time. I’d be curious to know whether his work in those 13 days made any coaching candidates think any differently about the job.

That Rosburg can coach wasn’t ever in doubt, even if he’s not exactly a big name. You don’t make it 20 years in the NFL as a special teams coordinator — or coaching more than a decade for one of the best in Baltimore’s John Harbaugh — without being really good at what you do.

Hi Parker, before I pose my question, let me just say that I have really enjoyed your Broncos’ coverage. I’m not a super technical fan (I didn’t play the game when younger) and it is terrific to read your work: I find it clear, insightful, educational and interesting. Ryan O’Halloran was a favorite of mine, and I don’t miss him at all.

Here’s my question: I assume as a fan that you’ve been disappointed — like the rest of Broncos country — with the dumpster fire that’s been the Broncos this season. But as a journalist, was it satisfying to report on a season so rich in drama, intrigue and suspense? Stated differently, is it “fun” to cover a bad team with a lot of really interesting stuff happening around the badness, versus a winning team that doesn’t have as interesting a narrative?

Looking forward to reading you for years to come!

— Jon Skinner, Louisville

Hey Jon, thank you for the kind words and thanks for reading. Just talked with Ryan the other day, actually. He’s in the midst of covering a playoff run in Buffalo (and, obviously the biggest story in sports the past couple of weeks with the Damar Hamlin situation) instead of a coaching search.

That gets to your question. I’m not a fan, so the normal stuff fans associate with their teams like disappointment and joy and anger, etc. doesn’t really apply to me. It’s an odd concept sometimes for fans to wrap their heads around just because it’s a very different lens, but it’s true.

You’re spot on with your question, though. Generally speaking, the most interesting teams to cover are good ones and bad ones. Mediocre can get tough, though there are always stories and insights to dig out. Certainly no shortage this year. So many games turned out approximately the same — not enough offense, close loss, etc. — but it turned from curiosity to concern to calamity as the year progressed. All while seeming like it could turn at any moment if the offense could just get in gear. Weird, and “fun” to cover, as you say. It’s the NFL and it’s football, there’s always joy to get to be a part of it.

It seems like most of the country forgot that Sean Payton was found guilty of trying to cover up “Bountygate,” the rewards system where Saints players were paid bonuses for knocking players from other teams out of games. I for one think that Sean Payton should have been banned from coaching for life as a result of allowing and trying to cover up that program. What do you think? I like to think that Broncos fans have better moral values than those of other unnamed teams. Maybe I am wrong. I am rooting to give Jerry Rosburg a shot at head coach for next year. The team really responded to him. If not Jerry, then Jim Harbaugh has my vote. Your thoughts?

— Randy Crumbaugh, Bayfield

Yeah, Randy, fair point. Bountygate has not been much of a topic of conversation as it pertains to Payton considering getting back into coaching for 2023. The suspension was unprecedented punishment when it came down on Payton and it also wasn’t the only issue they had in his time there. It’ll be interesting to see how the next couple of weeks play out, but that suspension from a decade ago certainly doesn’t seem to have cooled Payton’s market much, if at all.

I don’t have a vote, but until Monday when Harbaugh bowed out, nothing in the past couple of weeks had suggested much different than the Payton/Harbaugh/Quinn starting point that most figured when Nathaniel Hackett was fired on Dec. 26. Now, what happens if the cost gets too steep on Payton (or he decides he’d prefer either waiting a year for one of the other openings)? Is it as simple as Quinn? Or at that point do others like Ejiro Evero, Raheem Morris and Jim Caldwell make it a wide open race? Maybe we’ll find out, maybe we won’t.

Parker, what do you think is the ceiling for Pat Surtain II? He looks like he’s destined to be a perennial All-Pro and a fixture on the Pro Bowl teams for years to come. Do you think the Broncos will try and lock him down with a long-term deal before his rookie contract ends?

— Mark, Arvada

Hey Mark,

Hard to put a ceiling on what Surtain can accomplish given the start he’s off to. Consensus first-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowl starter at 22 is remarkable. The thing that always strikes me is the way opposing players and coaches — and the set of former defensive backs that are now analysts — talk about Surtain. He’s obviously a special player. If he stays mostly healthy and continues to build on his game, you’re eventually talking about the rare kind of player who can end up in Canton. But let’s give him more than two seasons to work before we start worrying about that kind of stuff. Just enjoy watching him take away big swaths of the field.

As for the extension, yeah, Surtain likely will get paid top dollar before the end of his deal. With a fifth-year option as a first-round pick, Surtain is under the Broncos’ control through 2025. His draft class is first eligible for extensions a year from now. So, it’s one to keep in mind as a major cash/cap outlay that is in the not-so-distant future.

DeMarcus Ware, is he a Hall of Famer this year? And who are you picking to win the Super Bowl? Thanks.

— Mike Runnels, Denver

Good question, Mike. Handicapping HOF classes is not exactly my area of expertise. A finalist needs 80% of the vote in order to be enshrined. This is Ware’s second straight year as a finalist, so he’s obviously a guy the panelists are familiar with at this point. As you’d expect, there’s no shortage of quality candidates, including a trio that’s eligible for the first time in Dwight Freeney, Joe Thomas and Darrelle Revis.

As for the Super Bowl pick, let’s just take a minute to note the level of quarterback play remaining in the AFC: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence. Not bad.

Can’t go wrong picking Kansas City or Buffalo, but how about the Bengals? Let’s go out on a limb and say Cincinnati gets to the big dance and falls short to San Francisco and Mr. Irrelevant, quarterback Brock Purdy.

Apologies to Bengals fans and Niners fans alike, as the analytics on my prognosticating prowess indicates that by picking them, they are likely to fall this weekend.

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