Broncos are again center of NFL world, this time please don’t embarrass us

The NFL world still has Broncos fever.

And right now, it doesn’t look like there’s a cure.

All the important people in the league flocked to Arizona this week for annual meetings. That included Broncos head coach Sean Payton, general manager George Paton, owner / CEO Greg Penner and president Damani Leech. We heard from the first two on Monday, with the expectation the other two will talk later today.

Did you seed the video emerging from the Biltmore Hotel? Payton was a popular man for the media to chat with on Monday morning. The Super Bowl champion head coach from last month? Not so much. Check out what 9NEWS and 104.3 The Fan Broncos insider Mike Klis captured on his phone.

AFC Coaches Breakfast. Sean Payton’s table vs Super Bowl champion Andy Reid’s table. #WhataBeat #9sports pic.twitter.com/PiUvSQVfly

— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) March 27, 2023

Wow! That is nuts. Payton has about a dozen microphones and several cameras ready to record every word. Andy Reid, at least at that point in time, didn’t have a soul in sight.

To be clear, Reid did have media eventually catch up with him, but it’s obvious where reporters felt like they needed to save a spot. Somehow, the 5-12 Broncos are still more compelling than the Chiefs, fresh off another parade to celebrate a title.

It wasn’t enough for Denver to have a celebrity quarterback a season ago in Russell Wilson, now they have a celebrity head coach as well. Payton was popular on the sidelines in New Orleans, had a Netflix movie made out of his very public suspension and then was a star on TV for FOX last season.

Double the star power, double the fun?

Let’s hope it’s something like that, because Broncos Country didn’t have any fun a season ago. Zero, zilch, nada. From the first game in Seattle to two more heartbreaking losses to Kansas City, it all stunk. We don’t need to reset each national television meltdown that had Denver the talk of the NFL world every Monday (or Tuesday, or Friday) morning.

All this attention is fine, but fans are pleading with Wilson, Payton and to some extent Penner, Leech and Paton: please don’t embarrass us again. We’re far too proud and have done this far too long to take another season like the one that happened in 2022.

Ownership did the right thing by firing Nathaniel Hackett after 15 dreadful games, and doubled down by hiring one of the few coaches on the market with a Super Bowl ring. Those game-management issues should be a thing of the distant past with Payton in charge instead of the bumbling Hackett.

But fans are clearly at a breaking point with Wilson, and the organization might be too. Yes, the contract would be difficult to get out of if things go poorly this year, but they’d try to find a way. Penner and Payton would have to send Paton packing as well, after making one of the worst trades in NFL history then doubling down with an insane contract extension.

Let’s hope that’s not the case. If Wilson can right the ship, he’s a prime candidate to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year. It’d be the ultimate redemption for a QB now entering a legacy season. Once thought to be a surefire Hall of Famer, Wilson desperately needs a big year.

Again, that’s what we’re asking. Cameras in March happen because Payton is a big deal, asked to fix a major problem. He’ll have even more cameras at his Coach of the Year ceremony if he can complete the monumental task of saving Wilson’s career.

Broncos fans are exhausted, not just because of what happened this past fall, but the last seven seasons since Super Bowl 50. By now you know six of those in a row have been under .500; none resulted in a postseason berth.

That would be a start. If Payton and Wilson can lead Denver back to the playoffs, there would finally be a reason for optimism. If they can win a game or two in mid-January? Well, we might just be dancing in the streets.

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