The coaching churn continues for the Denver Broncos, with reports surfacing that coach Sean Payton has contacted former head coach Mike Zimmer about joining his staff as a senior assistant, with a focus on working with the defense.The possibility was reported by multiple outlets, including Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk and Nikhil Mehta of ProFootballRumors.com.
Payton and Zimmer, who is 69, have an extensive history that goes back a long way. Zimmer has 15 years of coaching experience as a defensive coordinator, and he was also the head coach of the Minnesota Viking for eight years. Zimmer has also had coaching stints with the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals.
More recently, he was the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, and Zimmer and Payton coached together on the Cowboys staff back in the early 2000’s before Payton became coach of the Vikings. Zimmer was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, while Payton worked as an assistant head coach, according to Alper.
It’s unclear what current defensive coordinator Vance Joseph thinks of this hire. Joseph led a defense that was ranked first in the NFL according to most assessments, so the Broncos certainly don’t need a lot of help on that side of the ball, although Payton did fire cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch as part of a staff purge following Denver’s 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game.
This could be just a simple NFL “buddy hire,” and according to the reports there’s interest from both parties in making it happen. The hire could be finalized at this week’s NFL combine, which has become a meet-and-greet for executives, coaches and evaluators with some prospect observation thrown in on the side.
Payton is expected to face questions about his coaching shuffle on offense as well. He elevated passing game coordinator Davis Webb to offensive coordinator after firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and receivers coach Keary Colbert, but at this point it’s unclear whether Payton is willing to give up calling plays, which is something he’d done for virtually his entire career as a head coach.
Payton will also have to field questions about quarterback Bo Nix, who broke his ankle in Denver’s 33-30 OT win over the Buffalo Bills in the division round. The Denver coach revealed some information about Nix’s medicals that didn’t go over well, saying Nix was “predisposed” to the injury, and the media will almost certainly want to know the current status of their relationship as Nix continues his rehabilitation process.