When the Denver Broncos hired Sean Payton as head coach last year, there was some speculation that he would have the final say on roster decisions over general manager George Paton.
Payton and Paton both said last spring that they would have a “collaborative” working relationship that would not necessitate one having the final say.
The coach and GM have now gone through a full offseason of free agency and the draft and Paton maintains that neither has the final say on roster decisions.
“That hasn’t come up, and it certainly does not come up with Sean,” Paton said during his end-of-season press conference. “He’s so collaborative. We would not bring in a player that Sean and I didn’t agree upon.
“We wouldn’t bring in a player that two coaches probably [did not agree upon, or] a coach and a scout. We dissect it, and we get into it. We do deep dives. It has not really come up in my career very often, but it certainly hasn’t come up with Sean being here.”
Payton knows what he wants in a player as a coach, and Paton knows how to search for players as a former scout. It wouldn’t make sense for Paton to recommend a player that does not fit Payton’s scheme, so the GM’s comments about collaboration are certainly believable.
Paton and Payton are now set to enter their second offseason together this spring. Free agency begins in March and the draft will follow in April.
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