Who's the Better Sean: Rams' McVay or Broncos' Payton?

The following year, Payton handed McVay his first loss of the season, after a stunning performance from Michael Thomas. Later on in the NFC Championship game, aided by the refs turning a blind eye to clear defensive pass interference by Nickell Robey-Coleman, the Rams defeated the Saints on their way to Super Bowl LIII. The Saints have yet to recover from that incident.

Eventually, Payton moved on, finding a new home in Denver, leading the Broncos to the playoffs last season, their first appearance since 2015. In the meantime, McVay would be a constant figure in the postseason capturing Super Bowl LVI.

Yet, despite McVay having more success than Payton over the past eight seasons, Payton was ranked higher than McVay in Pro Football Focus' recent ranking of the top returning head coaches, put together by Dalton Wasserman.

Payton is ranked second and McVay is ranked third.

"Payton inherited a disaster in Denver in 2023, and his quarterback, Russell Wilson, was clearly unhappy," wrote Wasserman. "After a 1-5 start, Payton rallied the team behind a strong defense to win seven of their final 11 games. Wilson was jettisoned, and the Broncos selected their new quarterback, Bo Nix, in the 2024 NFL Draft."

"Payton and Nix turned out to be a match made in heaven, giving Broncos fans a vision of Payton renewing the success he cultivated for so long in New Orleans. Denver’s defense was still strong last season, and Nix’s excellent 1.8% turnover-worthy play rate perfectly represented a team that didn’t beat itself. The Broncos lost only two games all season by more than one score, defeats to AFC elites Baltimore and Buffalo. Denver has only added more talent this offseason and should continue to contend with its elite head coach leading the way."

Let's make one thing clear, he did not inherit a disaster in Denver. The Broncos had one of the best defenses in 2022 under former Rams assistant Ejiro Evero.

They also had Wilson, a quarterback who can still win, plus pieces along the offensive line and playmakers like Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy. While not the most ideal, it wasn't a disaster.

In the past eight years, McVay has won more playoff games, more NFC Championship games, and a Super Bowl while Payton hasn't.

McVay has a more successful coaching tree as well.

Regardless, there's one guy who wins in the playoffs and one guy who hasn't been able to win a big playoff game in some time. Let's leave it at that.