Sean Payton explains why he had the sleeves cut off Sunday

Sean Payton and Bill Belichick are both branches of the Bill Parcells coaching tree. So, when Payton stalked the sideline in Chicago on Sunday afternoon with the sleeves on his windbreaker snipped, it was fair to wonder about the connective tissue.

And it was equally fair to note that the snips coincided with the Broncos stirring and overturning a 21-point deficit in the game’s final 20 minutes.

But as it turned out, it was just a functional thing.

“Look, it wasn’t a new pullover, but [the sleeves] have got kind of the elastic finish right by your wrist that was — it was almost like there was no air getting in and out,” Payton explained. “We had to give it some air. It was just a tight fit around the wrist.

“So, we made it a loose fit.”

Sean Payton was over wearing sleeves 😅☀️

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/OBFMUvLwZO

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 1, 2023

Just as Quinn Meinerz used to speak of how he wanted to “let the belly breathe,” Payton decided to let his arms breathe.

Freed from the constriction of elastic, Payton’s hands held the play sheet featuring the calls that allowed the Broncos to rally from a 28-7 deficit with 24 unanswered points for a 31-28 win.

There remains plenty for Sean Payton and the Broncos to fix, of course. As he noted after the game, the Broncos “are still not doing well.” They escaped from the hole, but as a slew of players said after the game, it was largely a hole of their own making. Several players used the cliche “we shot ourselves in the foot” to describe the team’s form for the first two-thirds of the contest.

But sartorially speaking, Payton received the stitch fix he needed.

***

Related

Broncos lose Mims to foot injury on first seriesMarvin Mims can’t become a star receiver in DenverProjecting the Broncos’ 53-player roster: Difficult decisions loomThe Packers loss gave Vance Joseph exactly what he’s been waiting forSean Payton dunks on lazy analysis about Broncos QB Bo NixDespite ankle injury, Bo Nix is at his best when he moves around