Mickey Loomis has been the Saints’ General Manager since 2002. He hired Sean Payton as head coach in 2006, and together, the two men built a Super Bowl champion.
Payton left after the 2021 season, taking a year off before accepting the Broncos’ head coaching job last week.
Payton now gets to work with George Paton.
The two men hadn’t met in person until Payton’s Jan. 17 interview in Los Angeles.
“There’s a demeanor with [Paton] that reminds me of Mickey in a good way. Very steady,” Payton said Monday, via Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. “I’ve always respected the teams he’s been a part of. . . . It’s a small industry but particularly in our case. We hit it off kind of right away.”
There was a thought that Payton would seek complete control of personnel with his new team, but he and Paton have hit it off. Both men report directly to CEO Greg Penner.
“I think there’s this myth that I’m, like, this tyrant that comes into the building and has to control everything,” Payton said. “I really enjoy his company, and I think it works really well so far.”