Sean Payton: David Shaw is a “good addition for us”

A few weeks ago, the Broncos added Stanford coach David Shaw to the front office. Current Broncos coach Sean Payton was asked about Shaw’s arrival on Monday.

“He was hired in the offseason,” Payton told reporters. “David and I worked together for a couple of years in Philadelphia. My first two years in the NFL, I was with David with the Philadelphia Eagles, 1997-98, under (former Eagles coach) Ray Rhodes. (Former NFL coach) Jon Gruden was our offensive coordinator, (Ravens coach) John Harbaugh was our special teams coordinator. There were about six head coaches on that staff. (Titans offensive line coach) Bill Callahan, (former NFL head coach) Emmitt Thomas and (Broncos senior defensive assistant) Joe Vitt. I know I’m going to miss a couple of them. David was hired in the offseason. He’ll be more of a front office position and help us with the evaluation. There’s a number of things he can help us with. (He’s) extremely smart, he’s a good friend and a good addition to us.”

Some have speculated that Shaw will be looking over Payton’s shoulder on game days. As we understand it, Shaw won’t be attending many games.

It’s an out-of-the-way position and Shaw won’t be with the team on a regular basis, which should dissuade anyone from thinking Shaw is lurking as a potential replacement for Payton.

That said, Shaw interviewed for the job before Payton was hired, and Shaw has a close relationship with Broncos limited partner Condoleezza Rice from their time together at Stanford. While there’s no specific reason to think Shaw would replace Payton, those facts are undeniable.