Now that Travis Hunter—as he most definitely deserved—has won the Heisman Trophy, it’s time to jump on a new bandwagon.
Or maybe start one.
I realize that local media members aren’t enamored with Sean Payton. Some, in fact, find him pompous, arrogant, conceited, insufferable, full of himself, autocratic, etc., etc.
But how can even those who dislike him overlook the job he’s done coaching this year’s Denver Broncos?
With Sunday’s 31-13 victory over the Colts, they’re:
in second place in the AFC West and almost certain to make the NFL Playoffs for the first time in nine years;
assured of their first winning record since 2016; and
one win away from their first double-digit victory total since their Super Bowl championship season of 2015.
That alone sounds like a Coach of the Year Award resume, to me.
But there’s more to a Coach of the Year than just winning games and making the playoffs. (Fourteen of the 32 teams in the National Football League qualify for the postseason, but many of their head coaches are not under consideration.)
The measure of a Coach of the Year is how he dd it.
In Sean Payton’s case, he is doing it with a rookie quarterback and eight other rookies, including receivers Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin.
He also has 11 second-year players on the roster, as well as four guys who are classified as first-year players because they were rookies last season but didn’t get into a regular-season game.
So, it’s a young team with inexperience at the most important position on the field.
Young players test a coach’s patience, as running back Audric Estime did by fumbling early and too often. But Payton made him a project instead of abandoning him, and lately he’s been an important part of the running game.
A Coach of the Year candidate has to make tough calls, too.
In Payton’s case, he decided to move on from Justin Simmons, a stalwart in the defensive secondary throughout the long playoff drought. The defense seems no worse for it, and arguably better.
Then he pulled the plug on Tim Patrick, a go-to wide receiver until injuries robbed him of two-plus seasons just when he looked like the team’s best pass-catcher. Then he waived an off-season free agent signing, receiver Josh Reynolds—choosing to rely on Vele and Franklin, instead.
Releasing Simmons caused some howls, but nothing compared to biting the bullet on Russell Wilson and eating a huge sum of money, in favor of the sixth quarterback chosen in the first 12 picks of last April’s draft (which also was questioned . . . debated , , , criticized.
Now Nix is a candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year (despite a sub-par performance against Indianapolis).
There are other worthy candidates for the National Football League Coach of the Year Award, which is bestowed by The Associated Press.
Not the least is Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, who has the Steelers leading their division. Most significantly (and ironically), he has DangRuss looking like the quarterback the Broncos thought they’d acquired for a king’s ransom a few years ago.
Another is Dan Quinn, rumored to be a candidate to become Denver’s head coach a few mistakes ago. He’s now leading the recently struggling Washington Commanders into playoff contention in the National Conference East Division, and like Payton, he’s also doing it with a rookie quarterback.
There’s also Dan Campbell, who has built the perennially hapless Detroit Lions into a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Campbell, though, should be recognized for the job he’s done over four seasons, not one. After his first team won only three games, the Lions have improved steadily: 9-8 in 2022, 12-5 last year and 12-2 so far this season. They missed last year’s Super Bowl by three points, losing to San Francisco 34-31 in the NFC Championship game.
And the difference between Quinn and Payton is the difference between Jayden Daniels, the second pick in this year’s draft after winning the Heisman Trophy, and Bo Nix, whose selection as the 12th overall pick raised eyebrows.
As for Tomlin, he must be credited with resurrecting Russell Wilson’s career. But the Steelers went 10-7 and made the playoffs last year. Let Wilson be the Comeback Player of the Year and leave it at that.
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Denny Dressman is a veteran of 43 years in the newspaper business, including 25 at the Rocky Mountain News, where he began as executive sports editor. He is the author of 16 books, nine of them sports-related. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.