Can Wilson and Payton get along long-term?
KIZ >> Like it or not, Sean Payton is a jerk. He likes being obnoxious. He thinks being cantankerous and condescending helps win football games. With a Super Bowl victory on his resume and his 60th birthday just around the corner, it’s unlikely Payton is going to change. Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, on the other hand, is the last Boy Scout; he’s courteous and reverent. After watching Payton chew out Wilson during the blowout loss to Detroit, I’ve got to ask: Is there a future where these two guys can work together?
GABRIEL >> Can? Probably. Want to? That’s the $245 million question. The $85 million dead cap hit after the 2023 season question. And the interesting part about it, Kiz, is that all along it’s been Wilson who’s been so excited about the prospect of playing for Payton. He was willing to accept a trade to New Orleans in 2021 when Payton was there. He raved about Payton right as Denver’s coaching search kicked into gear and he’s made it clear he’s all about it from the start. Only in small doses has anything approaching the same warm-hearted sentiment traveled the other way. Payton did say on Monday, “Russ and I have a great relationship.” Wilson on Saturday didn’t give up much regarding his feelings about being lambasted on the sideline, but last week (after a different time getting accosted by Payton on camera) said he likes being coached hard. Is that what this is, Kiz?
KIZ >> Tell you what, Payton ain’t telling me that his childish little tantrum directed at Wilson isn’t any of my business. The most critical piece of football business the Broncos have going forward is whether a partnership between this coach and this quarterback can make Denver a Super Bowl contender. Listen, the last thing I am is a snowflake. So I find it amusing when Payton stomps around like an angry bear, in silly tribute to Bill Parcells, his coaching mentor. But a team can’t win in this league if the coach doesn’t trust his quarterback. And Payton regularly sends signals he doesn’t trust Wilson.
GABRIEL >> The last few weeks, playing indoors and against defenses that have ranged between leaky and downright abysmal against the pass, Payton has started off games by dialing up shots. And it hasn’t worked. Didn’t against Houston, didn’t against the Chargers. Didn’t after the first play against Detroit. That after a stretch in which the Broncos beat really good defenses by committing to running the ball and playing off of it. Maybe that doesn’t translate to major trust in his quarterback, but it did get them back from a 1-5 abyss. Easier said than done, obviously, but that seems like the path forward, both for the final three games and if these two are together again next year and beyond.
KIZ >> It doesn’t matter if a football coach is a yeller or a hugger, so long as he’s a master of structure and strategy. From the practice field to the stadium, Nathaniel Hackett didn’t know what it takes to win. Payton has X’s and O’s down stone cold. But a player needs to know a coach not only believes in him, but also cares about his success. That’s a basic tenet of teaching. Payton gives off the vibe that coaching Wilson is a task to be endured rather than enjoyed. I think Payton would be happier playing the role of tough mentor to a young QB he can mold in his own image.
GABRIEL >> There aren’t that many quarterbacks out there who allow a head coach to call whatever the heck he wants, whenever the heck he wants to. And Andy Reid’s sitting at that table until they close the restaurant down around him. You always have to work within the confines of what your quarterback does well and what he doesn’t. Wilson’s got a unique game at this point in his career. It’s a limited one in some ways but it still can be a dange-russ one. We’ve seen it at times this year. Think Payton would have a longer fuse with a truly young, inexperienced player? He’s never really had to rely on one. It’s been Drew Brees and a host of journeymen going all the way back to Ty Detmer in Philly in 1997. Maybe we’ll find out.