When Sean Payton joined the Denver Broncos last year, he quickly made it clear to everyone that it would be his way or the highway.
Payton promptly kicked quarterback Russell Wilson’s personal QB coach out of the team’s facility, and he also hinted that he was not a fan of Wilson’s frequent hype posts on social media.
“I kind of use this term, ‘A little bit more anonymous donors this season,’” Payton said. “Just know that we’re working, but with a little bit less visibility on social media and all those other things. We’re going to get to work, and ultimately, it’s how we do in the fall. We kind of go from there. We have to earn it with our fans. We’ve got fantastic fans that will appreciate that.”
Wilson’s social media posts decreased and his on-field numbers improved under Payton, but it wasn’t enough. Payton benched the QB with two games remaining in the 2023 season and then cut the QB this spring.
Some fans and pundits speculated that Payton was not a big fan of Wilson from the start, perhaps evidenced by his blowups on the sideline. With the QB no longer in town, perhaps Payton will have a slightly more relaxed approach in 2024.
“There is probably in the first year where you are pissing on all of the trees, and I’m probably guilty of that,” Payton said on June 12.
Payton is entering his 18th year as a head coach in the NFL (although he was suspended in 2012). His football journey took him down a path he did not expect, and he’s now addicted to the job.
“I think it’s the thing — look, I got into coaching and teaching with idea that I was going to be a college coach, hopefully in the Big Ten,” Payton said. “Then this career is interesting and will take you places that maybe you didn’t expect to [go].
“When young coaches ask, you always talk about being present, where you are at, where your feet are at and the other stuff will take care of itself. That happened to me quite a bit. The reward of seeing someone develop and accomplish and then gain confidence — the reward of that constantly comes with new players, with veteran players and it is kind of addictive.”
Payton went 152-89 in 15 seasons with the New Orleans Saints, winning seven division titles and one Super Bowl. He went 8-9 in his first season with the Broncos last fall and will now look to improve on that record in the post-Wilson era. Whether it’s Bo Nix or someone else under center in Week 1, Denver’s next QB will have been hand-picked by Payton.
There’s no more friction — and no more excuses — for Payton and his QB situation with the Broncos. Now it’s time to see if that leads to better on-field results.
