For most of the 2022 season, LA Chargers fans were daydreaming about the possibility of the team hiring Sean Payton. While the team would eventually make the playoffs, fans were not happy with Brandon Staley's coaching and imagined a future where Payton could coach Justin Herbert.
It appeared that the Chargers job was one that Payton would hold out for and potentially wait another season to pursue if 2023 did not go as planned for the Bolts. However, instead of waiting it out Payton made the surprising decision to agree to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos.
This was heartbreaking news for many Chargers fans when in reality, it was a situation that Chargers fans should have embraced. While Payton is undoubtedly a future Hall of Fame coach, there is no guarantee he will fix the myriad of problems that Denver has.
One of those problems is Russell Wilson, who is coming off of an extremely disappointing season. Payton and Wilson are already not seeing eye-to-eye with certain aspects of the organization, which already proves to Chargers fans that this hire might not go as planned for Denver.
Chargers fans must root for the Sean Payton-Russell Wilson relationship to be tumultuous
There is a large contingent of Broncos fans who have convinced themselves that Payton is going to come into town and bring Wilson back to prominence. These same fans are ignoring the fact that Wilson's last year and a half in Seattle were also bad and that small, mobile quarterbacks do not age well. Wilson is going to turn 35 during the 2023 season.
There is a really good chance that Payton and Wilson's relationship crashes and burns, which would be fantastic for the Bolts. Not only would the Broncos still be irrelevant, but they would have wasted so many assets for two guys who do not work well together.
If this relationship does not work out then Payton's Broncos career could end up being very short. Payton obviously had no interest in developing the next quarterback after Drew Brees in New Orleans, so why would he want to do the same in Denver?
Broncos fans wanted someone who could stand up to Russell Wilson and get the most out of him on the football field. Instead, they may have gotten a high-profile relationship that simply does not work out and eventually goes up in flames.
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And while all of that happens, Chargers fans will be sitting back with a bag of popcorn to watch it unfold.