Good morning, Broncos Country.Last year, the Denver Broncos made a serious effort to hire Jim Harbaugh as the next coach of the franchise. Unfortunately, Harbaugh stayed at the University of Michigan and won a national championship last season.With Harbaugh out of the picture, the Broncos turned to DeMeco Ryans, who finally accepted an offer from the Houston Texans — reuniting with the team that drafted him all those years ago. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and getting a head coach for the boys in orange and blue proved quite costly. The Broncos brass saw their chance to break out of their post-Super Bowl 50 slump by trading first- and second-round picks to acquire Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints.There’s no doubt the Broncos have improved this season from their disastrous 2022 campaign under Nathaniel Hackett. However, they still have a lot to prove to be a legitimate contender in the AFC West. Unfortunately, that task became much more difficult with the news that Harbaugh has now agreed to a five-year contract to coach the Los Angeles Chargers.The Chargers also have their own issues to deal with (roster shedding and cap issues), but they already have the Broncos with Justin Herbert at quarterback. Now they have a capable head coach of their own who should be able to turn things around pretty quickly. The same can be said for the Kansas City Chiefs, who have Hall of Fame coach Andy Reid and certain Hall of Fame quarterback Patrick Mahomes. This weekend they will play again for another potential Super Bowl title.Raiders have new head coach Tom Telesco and hired Antonio Pierce as head coach. Like the Broncos, they are on the outside looking in without a long-term solution to the most important position in football. Although they are in a much better position in terms of salary cap and have beaten the Broncos in both games four years in a row.The Broncos have few options, no cap space and no franchise quarterback. With a busy season ahead, Sean Payton and Co. will have to be very creative to keep up with a division that just got a lot tighter when Harbaugh joined the Chargers. Some might call it pessimism; I call it realism. Only time will tell if Payton can restore the Broncos’ status as a contender.We’ll just have to wait and see if Denver’s bold move for Payton turns out to be the right one.As always – thanks for reading. Here are today’s articles. Horse Former Broncos head coach Vic Fangio has left after just one season as the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator. the team announced Wednesday.Broncos sign NT Rashard Lawrence to future contract.Lawrence, a 2020 fourth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals, played in 25 career games and started 13 games for Arizona in 2020-22.New rumor predicts Russell Wilson will land with Raiders, according to ESPNNFL fame continues to cut breadcrumbs the Russell Wilson way.Tracks..