The Colorado Springs Gazette final

Who is Payton’s most important hire?

CHRIS SCHMAEDEKE chris.schmaedeke@gazette.com Chris Schmaedeke is the gigital sports editor of the Denver Gazette. GEORGE STOIA george.stoia@gazette.com George Stoia is The Gazette’s Broncos beat writer.

The Denver Broncos need to keep their defense together and it starts with the defensive coordinator. And that starts with new coach Sean Payton keeping Ejiro Evero on his staff.

Evero is a rising star in the coaching world. He interviewed for every open coaching job in the NFL. While it looks like he won’t get any of those positions, it still says a lot about Evero the coach.

For most of the season the Broncos defense was the star. It kept Denver in games while the offense sputtered all season. The Broncos gave up just 21.1 points a game, which is probably strong in today’s NFL when you have a real offense.

With the ESPN report on Thursday morning that former Broncos head coach Vic Fangio is headed to become the defensive coordinator in Miami, retaining Evero becomes even more important to Payton and the Broncos.

“He’s one of the best leaders I have been around,” safety Justin Simmons said on Dec. 29. That’s high praise from one of the Broncos’ best players.

There could be hard feelings as Evero was very close to former head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Evero also has an interview opportunity with the Minnesota Vikings to be their defensive coordinator. The options for Evero are plenty.

But if Payton wants the Broncos to be strong on the defensive side of the ball, convincing Evero to stick around will be a huge step in the right direction.

While Chris is right that keeping Evero should be a priority for Payton, the Broncos have one specific unit that has to improve next season: offensive line.

Payton is known for having great offensive lines during his time in New Orleans. It’s a large reason why the Saints finished in the top 10 in scoring offense 12 of his 15 seasons. And one of the biggest reasons the Broncos finished last in scoring offense last season was because they had a bad offensive line.

That’s why Payton should hire local resident and Hall of Famer Mike Munchak as his offensive line coach. Munchak recently served as Denver’s o-line coach from 2019-2021. And while it wasn’t perfect, it was clear the Broncos’ young talent was developing. Left tackle Garett Bolles had his best seasons under Munchak’s direction.

Bringing Munchak back to Dove Valley, while also restructuring the line completely, could make Payton’s offense churn in his first season.

And while many believe Payton can and will “fix” quarterback Russell Wilson, the first step in doing that is protecting him. The Broncos led the league in sacks allowed this season with 63.

Under Munchak’s leadership, the Broncos never allowed more than 40. That’s what Payton and the Broncos need.

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2023-02-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-02-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/282175065265245

The Gazette, Colorado Springs