The Denver Broncos reached an agreement Tuesday with the New Orleans Saints and Sean Payton, who will fill the Broncos' head coaching vacancy, a source confirmed to Mike Klis of 9 News in Denver.

The selection of Payton ends a long and meticulous search that had its share of unexpected twists and turns, but ultimately Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner believes he got his guy.

For what the Broncos need – a leader who knows how to establish a winning culture, and more specifically a reboot for quarterback Russell Wilson – it’s easy to argue Payton is the best candidate in this year’s coaching cycle.

Besides leading the Saints to a Super Bowl title by defeating Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts to cap the 2009 season, the most important accomplishment on Sean Payton's coaching resume is how he immediately he turned around a woeful team. In 2005, the city of New Orleans was in the throes of Hurricane Katrina disaster while the Saints finished that season with a 3-13 record under coach Jim Haslett.

The next year, the Saints hired Payton as head coach and acquired quarterback Drew Brees. The Saints went 10-6 and won a playoff game. 

He is also the most complicated and costly candidate.

Because he was under contract with the New Orleans Saints through the 2024 season, their general manager Mickey Loomis reportedly was asking for two, first-round picks in return.

It took a while but the Broncos eventually negotiated the price down although Sean Payton was still expensive. The Broncos surrendered their first-round draft pick, No. 29 overall, plus their second-round pick in 2024 to the Saints in exchange for Sean Payton and New Orleans' third-round in 2024.

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