Broncos head coach Sean Payton brought up the story this week about the time Al Davis tried to hire him to be the next Raiders’ head coach.
The year was 2004 and it’s a story that’s been public for decades, but for anyone who hasn’t heard Payton share the story, here it is again (below) from ESPN’s Peter Schrager.
The CliffsNotes version of the story is Davis wanted Payton, who was the quarterbacks coach in Dallas at the time, to be the next Raiders’ head coach, but Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones jumped in at the last minute and convinced Payton to return to Dallas.
Two years later, Payton was hired as head coach of the New Orleans Saints where he won a Super Bowl.
One detail to Payton’s decision to pass on the Raiders’ job that has been largely ignored, though, is a snippet from his book where he names three former head coaches who advised him against taking the job in Oakland.
From AL.com com in 2010, here’s the account. Three of the most respected coaches in the NFL in 2004 advised Payton to stay in Dallas and turn down the Raiders’ job. One name particularly stands out…
“Payton… expected to be offered the [Raiders] job and was strongly considering taking it. He and Davis began talking about which assistants he’d hire. Everything was falling into place for Payton to be the Raiders’ coach, until he talked to his boss in Dallas.
Parcells called to find out whether he’d have Payton back on his staff for the 2004 season. He knew Payton had sought advice from a trio of coaches with whom he’d worked before — Jon Gruden, John Fox and Bill Callahan. All had coached in Oakland in the past.
Parcells asked Payton what advice he’d received. Payton said Gruden, Fox and Callahan all advised him against taking the job.”
After missing out on Payton in 2004, Al Davis turned to Norv Turner, who lasted only two seasons as head coach of the Raiders.
14 years later, Gruden accepted a 10-year, $100 million deal to once again coach the team he advised Payton to avoid.
Payton is now coaching against the Raiders and after last year’s draft, Payton said he pulled a stunt in the 2024 draft to conceal the Broncos’ interest in University of Oregon quarterback in Bo Nix.
Payton said he was worried that the Raiders, who drafted one pick behind the Broncos, were going to trade ahead of them and take their coveted quarterback. In an effort to throw off the Raiders on their interest in Nix, Payton said he called the Raiders and made it appear they wanted to move back from pick 12.
“Our concern right behind us were the Raiders,” Payton said on the Scoop City podcast. “Then it was like, ‘Call the Raiders and tell them we might want to move back’… and they didn’t want to move up, and then there’s that minute you wait, and we stay put and the Jets make their pick and then here we are [drafting Bo Nix].”
As it turned out, it sounds like Payton made a good decision to hide his interest in Nix.
In a podcast appearance in June, former Raiders GM Tom Telesco talked about the quarterbacks he was interested in 2024, and it sounded like Nix was very high on his draft board.
Asked specifically if the Raiders would have drafted Penix, Telesco said it was Nix who he was more interested in at the time.
“We did a lot of work and talked a lot about [drafting Penix], but in the end, probably not,” Telesco said on the Check the Mic podcast.
“Now looking back had I known I had only one year there, maybe that would have been different. I don’t know,” Telesco added with a smile.
It wasn’t much of a secret at the time, but Jayden Daniels was the one quarterback Telesco said the Raiders would have traded up to get in 2024.
“Jayden Daniels. That would have been easy,” Telesco said.
“But then when we got into J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix and Michael Penix, as far as trading up for those guys, that I was not as much into. To give up that many assets, because we were going to have to give up a lot of draft picks. We needed as many as possible to try to build up the team. So that would have been a hard move to make to trade up for one of those quarterbacks… other than Jayden Daniels that was going to be a non-starter.”
Telesco pointed to injury concerns around Penix as a concern but added that drafting Nix was in consideration.
“Bo Nix, [with] his background of work, his durability, his movement skills. That one was interesting, and he’s gone to the perfect team. That would have been a good possibility.”
x: @raidersbeat
Key thing there is Telesco said they were never gonna trade up for Nix. Payton acts like he pulled a fast one on us but it was Atlanta that shocked everyone that draft.
Nix has a lot to prove I might add. Let’s not forget that Mac Jones took the Patriots to the playoffs his rookie year
Just like every other smart head coach or potential head coach in 2004, they all knew Al was over the wire. Batshit crazy. There was no top-tier head coach that wanted to be known as a coach with puppet strings, coming out his back.
Al still believed he was a coach and was still pushing cover zero in his defenses. And make no mistake that he was in control of the defense until he kicked it.