An all-business Sean Payton is clearly in regular-season mode

Sean Payton was clearly in regular-season mode Monday.

As the Broncos commemorate Labor Day by working and beginning their preparation for the regular-season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, Payton was short and to the point during a brief, three-minute, 59-second Zoom press conference.

The head coach offered “no injury updates” — in his words — when asked about safety Justin Simmons. All he said of Simmons was that he and other players recovering from injuries are “doing well moving around.” He said he didn’t see CU’s upset of TCU; in fact, he watched no college football.

The switch flipped.

SEAN PAYTON IS ALL BUSINESS

• Of creating a game plan for Raiders running back Josh Jacobs: ” I mean, our plan defensively is, here are the key players, he certainly is one of the more dominant running backs in the NFL. That’s how we’ll approach the game.”
• Of Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby: “Yeah, he’s real flexible. He’s a tremendous worker. Athletic. He’s got one of those motors that doesn’t stop, and he can get to your edge quick. But his ability to defend, and then his stamina, are things that stand out.”
• Of whether he’d open up the playbook in the regular season: “Well, listen, it’s part of each week. Open it up is kind of a vague term. You get more specific, obviously, with each opponent than the training-camp install. And yet you’re getting to your core principles, things that you’ve had a lot of work on. And that’s part of the job, part of the process. There are elements to that that you enjoy doing, and yet, it’s just one small piece.”

And when Sean Payton was asked whether he would play a Jimmy Buffett song during pre-practice stretching, he quickly deflected the question.

“We haven’t really looked at the music for stretch right now,” Payton replied. “We’re just focused on meeting and starting this week right relative to Las Vegas.”

Payton posted on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter about Buffett’s death Saturday. The two became friends dove the years, with Payton even playing the bongos during at least one Buffett concert.

Thanks for the songs.
Rest in Peace my friend.@jimmybuffett #Pirate pic.twitter.com/bwQDZ9fs2z

— Sean Payton (@SeanPayton) September 2, 2023

But come Monday after the iconic singer’s death from Merkel cell skin cancer, Payton had compartmentalized into business mode when it came to matters of his team.

***