Super Bowl champion running back/returner Darren Sproles is set to enter the coaching ranks.
Sproles spent three seasons under Payton with the New Orleans Saints. He already has experience on the personnel side, having been a consultant with the Philadelphia Eagles since 2020.
The interview began with Payton, The Athletic Senior NFL Insider Diana Russini, and former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel—who played for Payton in New Orleans for five of his 14 seasons—discussing Payton’s favorite players over his career. He mentioned tight ends Jimmy Graham and Jeremy Shockey as “honorable mentions” before pivoting to Sproles.
“There was something about Darren Sproles,” said Payton. “We were talking about him earlier today, and when I tell you this—and I just spoke to him—he’s coaching now. And he reached out, and he wants to get into it at this level, and he’s going to do an internship for us next fall.”
Payton said one of the qualities he liked best about Sproles was his ability to make the right decision in all situations.
“I‘ll never forget [quarterback] Drew [Brees] saying, every snap that he played with Darren—and I don’t know how many snaps that was, obviously, it was a lot,” Payton recounted. “Drew said, ’there wasn’t one time on the field he surprised me with what he did.’ And his football IQ was off the charts,” he said.
“[H]e would do something every time. Like, even something you'd never cover. On a choice route, slip under a [defensive] end, come up the field. And it was always the right thing. And so Sproles is one of those unique guys, and then you forget about his talent as a runner.”
Sproles was drafted by the San Diego Chargers out of Kansas State in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent six seasons in San Diego as a backup running back and return specialist. He had more than 1,000 kick return yards in each season with the Chargers, except 2006, which he missed entirely due to injury. He was also featured in the offense primarily as a receiving back. He holds the Chargers’ team record for most career kick return yards.
He signed with the Saints in 2011, reuniting him with Brees, who was the Chargers’ starting quarterback in Sproles’s rookie season in 2005. He set career highs in both rushing (710 yards) and receiving (603) yards in his first season in New Orleans, and added 1,089 kick return yards and 294 punt return yards to set the NFL record for most all-purpose yards in a season with 2,696. His usage as a returner declined after that season, but he was still a key contributor on offense.
He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014. He served a similar function as a receiving back, but worked primarily on special teams as a punt returner; he took more of the offensive workload in 2016 due to a rash of injuries. He played just three games in 2017 before an injury ended his season, but the Eagles won Super Bowl LII that season. His final two seasons in Philadelphia were marred by injury. However, he co-owns the Eagles franchise record for career punt return touchdowns with four.
For his part, Payton has brought several former players into the coaching ranks. The Broncos currently have two former players on their coaching staff: offensive run game coordinator Zach Strief, who played for Payton in New Orleans for his entire 12-year career; and special teams quality control coach Zach Line, who played fullback for the Saints from 2017-2019. Offensive quality control coach Logan Kilgore spent the 2014 offseason with the Saints as a quarterback. Chris Banjo, who played safety for the Saints from 2016-2018, served as assistant special teams coach from 2023-2024 before becoming special teams coordinator of the New York Jets in 2025.
The coaching staff also includes some former Broncos. Defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard was a member of the Broncos in 2012; defensive quality control coach Todd Davis played for both New Orleans and Denver and won Super Bowl 50 with the team in 2015, and stayed with the team until 2019. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph was an offseason member of the Broncos in 1997.
