Sean Payton defends ‘smaller market’ comment that got Jags fired up

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton motivated the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

That wasn’t his intention, but after Payton called Jacksonville a “smaller market” last week, the Jags took it personally.

Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen fired a shot about it in his postgame press conference after the Jaguars beat the Broncos 34-20. The team also used it all over social media, including players walking off the field talking about it and Coen’s postgame victory speech from the locker room.

During a conference call on Monday, Sean Payton clarified what he meant in his original comment.

“My press conference, it was very complimentary and those guys are playing outstanding football. That topic came up strictly because, ‘Hey, not enough of the country has seen how good these guys are playing,'” Payton said.

Sean Payton isn’t lying. If you go back and read his full quote last Wednesday, he was actually showering the Jaguars with compliments. They just hung on to a couple of words and used it as fuel.

“The point is though, listen, that was a good job by Liam. He was looking for a rallying cry. Obviously if you were listening to the press conference, the intention was strictly, ‘Hey quietly these guys are sitting here right near the top of the AFC, they’re ready to win their division.’ I spent 16 years at a small market. It was just a way for a coach to take it and use it to his advantage,” Payton said.

And yes, Sean Payton was the coach of the New Orleans Saints in a “smaller market” for a long time, so his explanation makes sense.

He wasn’t trying to insult Jacksonville, quite the opposite actually. However, the Jaguars took it in a different way, and ultimately it might have helped them end the Broncos’ 11-game winning streak.

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