The Denver Broncos wrapped up their final practice of the week on Thursday, and head coach Sean Payton was very introspective as the team prepares for Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, where every little detail matters. Within their preparation, Payton embraced how he self-scouts, his drive, and ultimately how the team has turned things around.
Sean Payton’s introspect shines light on Denver Broncos turnaround
Just over three years ago, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was an analyst at FOX, talking about some of the biggest games when the NFL Playoffs began. Now, he’s back to being in big games as the man who has turned around a franchise that was being laughed at prior to his entrance.
While at FOX, Payton broke down tape on every game in the playoffs, and while it scratched the football itch, it didn’t get rid of it. Retiring in 2021, Payton briefly stepped away from the game, at the time envisioning what his life would look like after football.
Perhaps breaking down games and talking about them amongst a panel would help him stay near the game without the stress and the daily energetic caloric consumption of charts, cut-ups, in-depth data reads on third down, and red zone tendencies — things that are taxing when you think of an 17 game regular season and the playoffs.
Payton missed that stress, that routine, and ultimately waking up with that purpose that’s been deeply rooted in him since he was younger. Ultimately that led to his return, and kickstarted what would be a transformation of Denver Broncos football.
“It’s funny you brought that up,” Payton said. “Yesterday I shared it with the players. I said, ‘That year away is a big transition.’ We’re all sold on what retirement’s going to be, on the lake somewhere with a fishing pole and some company’s selling you… It’s a little overrated that way relative to having a purpose and getting up. That year out, very little mattered. Getting ready for the Sunday where they’re going to throw you a few easy questions, and you’re going to have a narrative about the game, and then you stay and then go home. But all the while, immediately you realize that racetrack is going… I’ve said this, you smell the gasoline, the lights are on, and you’re like, ‘Man, there’s nothing like that.’ There’s going to be a time where, and I said this to the players, ‘There’s going to be a time where all of us have to get off, but you know what? Not today. Not today.’ There’s nothing like it. There’s nothing like it.”
For Payton, his gasoline is the smell of fresh-cut grass, the structure in between periods of practice, the post-practice meetings with his staff, team meetings, late night film sessions. The race track is the process of the day-to-day, the build-up to a Sunday game, the roller coaster of what a four-quarter game entails, and finding ways to improve coming off a win or loss.
As the game evolves, so does Payton. He acknowledged how he thinks when calling plays in today’s game and provided a self-scout that keeps him honest, but also challenges him.
“I’ll make a note on the sheet, ‘Run it,’” Payton said. “It’s important. The thing that I have to continue that changes as you get older is you still have to be quick. Play just ran, next play. I said this. When I was younger, we’d run a reverse on the eight-yard line, and I think nothing of it. As you get older, you think about all the ramifications. So I have to also remove that. It was said as you get older, maybe you don’t drive in the rain at night. You begin to… I can’t let that happen as a play caller. That’s something that I have to mentally make sure it’s quick. It’s quick and decisive, and it’s daring at the right time. Not reckless, but those are things that I find that are challenges compared to when I was 33 in New York or whatever.
The Denver Broncos are in a great position to make history and Payton’s foundation is a big reason why. A win on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills means that Denver hosts the AFC Championship game next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. MT. If it’s written to be, a win there means Denver heads back to Santa Clara for Super Bowl 60 with a chance to win the big one 10 years later in the same spot they won it in 2015.
For Payton, his legacy would be cemented as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. If they do that, it locks up a sure-fire Hall of Fame career by being the only coach in league history to win a Super Bowl with two different teams.
From 2022’s laughing stock led by Nathaniel Hackett, Payton demolished the house that was, instilled a foundation, and now that house is being built with a sturdy frame, and right now, it looks pretty damn good.
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