Sean Payton is taking back some of the play calling and Mark Schlereth isn’t surprised

Four games in, the Broncos head coach Sean Payton is reclaiming part of the job he gave Davis Webb, and the morning show says the 49ers loss made the move unavoidable.

Sean Payton handed off play calling this offseason. Four weeks into the season, he’s taking some of it back.

After a 2-2 start, Davis Webb’s role as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator and play caller will look different, with Sean Payton stepping back into the process. Denver Sports 104.3 the fan’s Brandon Stokley reported the potential coaching shift on Wednesday night. The breaking point seems to have been Sunday’s 24-14 loss in San Francisco. Denver’s offense couldn’t seem to put a consistent drive together and never found a rhythm.

On a recent edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, Brandon Stokley asked whether the change came too soon.

“And here we are, 4 weeks. What do you think? Is it premature to do it?” Stokley asked.

Schlereth said it wasn’t.

“No. I mean listen, had it looked different on Sunday against the Niners, then I think you would have continued to kinda stay the course,” Schlereth said.

He pointed out the odd part of the timing.

“But it was so bad. And it wasn’t the play calling, it was just the execution. It was so bad that Sean just feels like his voice needs to be heard, and it needs to be heard more than it has been heard,” Schlereth said.

That fits what Schlereth said earlier in the week, when he put the 49ers loss “100%” on Bo Nix. By his count, the scheme produced five or six wide-open chunk plays in the first half, including an over route to Evan Engram that could have gone for 40 or 50 yards. Webb’s calls were getting receivers open. Nix wasn’t throwing to them.

Execution is still part of the coordinator’s job, though. Webb was Nix’s quarterbacks coach for two seasons, and part of his job now is making sure Nix knows where the ball should go before the snap and trusts that it will be there. When a quarterback passes up an open first read, the mistake is his. It also shows that the play call and Nix’s read aren’t lining up, and Sean Payton may be the one to fix that.

Schlereth said the bigger goal is a cleaner offense.

“They’ve got to be just a more efficient offense to take some of the pressure off of Bo Nix. So yeah, it doesn’t surprise me,” Schlereth said.

The slow starts, the third-and-longs and the reliance on fourth-quarter rescues have all put more weight on Nix than any quarterback should carry for four quarters. If the offense stays on schedule, he doesn’t have to be a hero every week.

How Sean Payton and Davis Webb split the duties will become clearer Sunday against the Chargers. After Week 1, Joel Klatt said he would have taken the headset back “two days ago.” Sean Payton waited three more games. Now the Broncos will find out whether more of his voice is what this offense needed.

Related

Broncos offensive play-calling will look different this week, national reports confirmBroncos players’ belief in Davis Webb is unshakenReport: Broncos’ play-calling change is already underwayBo Nix on why he isn’t running: ‘Y’all want me with the ball or RJ with the ball?’Sean Payton defends Bo Nix after rough outing against 49ersBo Nix reveals what Peyton Manning texts him after Broncos games