It’s a new day for the Denver Broncos, or at least that’s the way they see it, as Sean Payton is their new head coach, and he has them focused on rebounding from the unmitigated disaster that was the 2022 season.
They were considered Super Bowl contenders after trading for future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson, but they had a historically bad offense, not to mention numerous miscues, and won just five games.
Earlier this week, Payton made some comments about Nathaniel Hackett, who was the Broncos’ head coach for most of last season, that seemed harsh to some.
He seemed to backtrack a bit on those remarks, saying that he was in his sportscasting mode rather than his coaching mode.
#Broncos coach Sean Payton is backtracking on yesterday's comments.
Payton today: "I had one of my moments where I had my FOX hat on, and not my coaching hat."pic.twitter.com/KzUndyVtkxhttps://t.co/EaujuP0HCn
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 28, 2023
Payton, the longtime former head coach of the New Orleans Saints, quit after the 2021 season and spent last year as a commentator for Fox Sports’ NFL coverage.
There was at least some truth in his comments, and it appears he has put a premium on changing the culture in Denver.
An unquestionably positive thing Payton has done is make himself an ally of Wilson, who had clearly the worst season of his career in 2022.
Payton has publicly said that Wilson is not washed up and that he expects the former Seattle Seahawk to bounce back and return to form this fall.
Denver may not have the talent to win the Super Bowl, but they do seem to have everything set up to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season, which happened to be the last time they won it all.
NEXT: Skip Bayless Explains Why Sean Payton Went After Nathaniel Hackett
