Sean Payton put on the spot by Zach Bye about Broncos critics

Sean Payton has a lot of critics and that’s probably fair given his checkered past and the Denver Broncos have a lot of doubters right now, which is likely justified given their recent run of losing.

Payton’s problems have never been about winning, the Super Bowl-winning whistle-blower of the New Orleans Saints has already shown he’s about success in his second head coaching gig in the NFL. He improved the Broncos by three wins in his first year at the helm. His ways can rub a lot of people wrong as has Denver finally deciding to take the plunge and rebuild a bit. The much-needed fresh approach at Dove Valley both from coach and organizational philosophy has spurred criticism but most change does.

And if the Broncos weren’t going to change, they would likely still be stuck in the post-Super Bowl-winning malaise they’ve had since Peyton Manning retired.

The host of The Drive on 104.3 The Fan, Zach Bye asked Payton about some of the backlash he’s faced.

“Do you have a separate compartment or a personal chip on your shoulder in addition to like, you’re in the NFL, you want to win every game,” Bye asked. “You got national stuff being said about the team and coaching lists like you have a separate compartment for like a middle finger, like a personal listing?”

“No, look, I have two middle fingers, I’ve gotten better with age not using them,” Payton responded. “And I think it’s it’s more, and I would say this has changed for me, it’s more inward focused relative to our own team and what we’re doing relative to as you get older in this, you don’t waste the calories on certain things that I might happen.”

Payton used the opportunity to boast about landing his preferred future quarterback this year during the NFL Draft, in getting Oregon’s Bo Nix all the way down at No. 12.

“I don’t play a lot of video games but you got X amount of battery life and energy and try to use it where you think it’s best to help the team and so you learn over time to not spend as much on the things you can’t control or yeah, certainly less or,” Payton continued. “if that concerned me we wouldn’t have drafted Bo Nix where we selected him if I was paying attention to that.

Nix was projected by many to go later, with some projecting the second or even the third round. Payton’s bet on Bo was a big one but given his reputation in the league, he’s got plenty of job security with the Broncos to the point where Nix may be more likely to be holding a clipboard than be under center to start the season. The 24-year-old is riding an unreal year with the Ducks, where he threw for 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns to just three interceptions while tacking on another 234 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

“That’s that NFL train that no one knows who’s driving and you got to pay attention to it, but you just don’t want to hop on it, or you just start making decisions, but we still don’t know who’s driving it,” Payton explained decision-making in the league. “Really paying attention to your gut, your experience, and what you’re seeing—those are the things that drive me now.”

If Payton is right about Nix, and is correct in his unique thinking, it may be just the thing the Broncos need to pull themselves out of their near decade-long rut.

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