Sean Payton's offseason staff shuffle is nearing completion, and the Denver Broncos head man is once again tapping into the high school ranks.
After hiring away Brian Niedermeyer from his head coaching post in Alabama, Payton is plucking Zach Line from his perch atop the Oxford (Michigan) High School program, Line's alma mater.
A seven-year veteran of the NFL, Line spent four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and then played three seasons for Payton with the New Orleans Saints.
Sources told FootballScoop that Line will assist the Broncos with their special teams units. That move also is a reunion( he’ll work with former Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, whom Payton recently hired in Denver.
Following a year away from football, Line -- a former three-time all-conference selection at SMU, where he rushed for 47 career touchdowns -- entered the coaching ranks at Oxford High School in his hometown some 40 miles north of Detroit.
Line and Payton won 37 games together in their three shared years in New Orleans, including advancing to the 2018 NFC Championship game.
Payton, a former Super Bowl-winning coach, has gone 18-16 in his first two seasons with the Broncos, including an AFC Wild Card appearance to cap the 2024 season.