The mentor protégé relationship is a big thing in the NFL. Coaching tree’s are vast and seem to be everlasting. The Bill Parcels coaching tree is gigantic. Sean Payton is a part of that coaching tree and by his extension, Dan Campbell is too.
Campbell played for the Cowboys while Payton was the teams assistant head coach and Parcells was the head coach. Campbell made a big impact on both of those guys. So much so that when Payton became a head coach in New Orleans, he went out and got Dan Campbell to play for him there. That unfortunately never happened due to an injury and Campbell missed out on winning a Super Bowl that season.
The relationship didn’t end there. After Parcells got Campbell into coaching with the Dolphins, Sean Payton hired Campbell to be a part of his staff in New Orleans. Campbell has always regarded Payton as a mentor to him in the coaching world.
These days it’s the protégé that is having much success in the coaching world. Dan Campbell’s Lions are 8-3 and they’re 16-5 in their last 21 games. Sean Payton is looking for his Bronco’s to emulate that. More specifically, he’s look for the Broncos to have the type of the season the 2022 Lions had.