Flipping Off His Critics, Sean Payton Bottling His NFL Legacy After Failing Denver Broncos and Russell Wilson

Sean Payton is tired of all the naysaying and apprehension cast on him. Russell Wilson’s tenure with the Denver Broncos might have been disastrous, but the head coach is prepared to escalate his team to a new level of success with the rejuvenated roster. If there’s one thing that Payton has for his doubters, it’s his “two middle fingers.”

The Broncos HC appeared in a presser and addressed all his haters saying, “I think that I have two middle fingers,” and that “I’ve gotten better with age not using them. I think it’s more — and I would say this changed for me — it’s more inward-focused relative to our own team and what we’re doing. As you get older in this, you don’t waste the calories on certain things that I might’ve back in 2006, ’07, ’08.

Nick Wright had some interesting arguments about Sean Payton’s tenure with the Broncos. “If Russell Wilson is going to be more than serviceable for a potential above 500 maybe fringe playoff team Steelers, that doesn’t look great for Sean Payton,” said Wright and added, “If the entire football world is correct that Bo Nix wasn’t a first-round pick and 12 was crazy, that’s not going to look great for Sean Payton.”

The Broncos wanted Payton to turn their franchise around with Russell Wilson as their quarterback and they went 8-9 in 2023 and 3 in the AFC West, their best in the last six seasons, which is still an improvement for the Denver team. The HC was brought in to fix the QB issues in the Denver team, but instead, the Broncos took on massive dead money when Russell Wilson was asked to leave.

It seems like Sean Payton’s New Orleans legacy has come to a halt. And maybe to resume his prolific career, he drafted a rookie like Bo Nix. So, can he recreate his golden years with Bo Nix at the signal caller position?

Enter Bo Nix: Sean Payton’s redemption arc

There’s no denying that Sean Payton is perhaps one of the most successful coaches in New Orleans Saints history. His 152-89-win record and the Super Bowl 44 win with Drew Brees speaks volumes about his coaching acumen. Maybe he was trying to recreate the same in the Broncos but failed for reasons that might have been out of his control. Payton did mention in the past that he sees some of young Drew Brees’ qualities in Bo Nix.

“All right, we’re looking for similarities. I would say mentally, [Nix] wants to know as much and as fast as he can,” Payton said, via DNVR Sports. “I think there’s maybe a maturity level because, again, [Nix] played 61 games [in college] and when [the Saints] got Drew, it was off of his rookie contract and coming off an injury.”

However, there’s a slight issue with Bo Nix and that’s his age. Nix is 24 now and is not likely to start for the Broncos in his rookie season. However, if Zach Wilson slips up, the QB out of Oregon might get a chance to make his mark on the team. Nix will be 28 by the time his rookie deal expires and people like Patrick Mahomes have 3 Super Bowl wins at that age. Hence, setting a huge standard to achieve an overall view for the new star.

But age is just one factor that shouldn’t overshadow the other good things Nix offers, such as his 5-year college experience. He did wonders in his last season at Oregon, having amassed 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns. But the pro league is unforgiving, physical, and requires relentless work hours, which Nix potentially would hope to give his all. Only time remains the answer to whether the Nix-Payton duo can remove the horrors of the Wilson-led side, and bring in a new standard positively for the Broncos team.