Rival AFC Coach Delivers Blunt Take About Broncos HC Sean Payton
One anonymous AFC defensive coach offered a blunt reminder about Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton.
Payton is 18-16 as the Broncos’ head coach, a mark that belies his reputation as a Super Bowl champion and the team’s 10-win regular season in 2024 with a rookie quarterback (Bo Nix) at the helm.
Moreover, it belies Payton’s reputation as a respected offensive mind.
Rival Coach Praises Broncos HC Sean Payton
GettyHead coach Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos have plenty to figure out at the RB position.
The coach’s comments come as part of an editorial from The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen, focusing on the top playcallers around the league. Other coaches are “systematic” schematically.
Payton uses a “barrage of personnel groupings and pre-snap movement.”
“The first 15 (plays) is a motherf—– with them. It’s big (personnel), little (personnel) every play, and they try to just create chaos with the subs and play games with all that s—, and then they mix modes with the no huddle and all that,” the coach said, per Nguyen on September 2. “They put guys in the right spots, fit the pieces together well, where like everyone has their role with that.
“Then it’s a diverse offense where you’ve got to defend two-back, one-back, four-by-one, RPOs, QB-driven, YY sets. And it’s all the stuff you got prepared for. And that makes you just say, f— it, we just got to be simple. There’s so much noise where you can’t really pin them down.”
Payton, who ranked No. 8 on the list, is 170-105 in his career, and in his 17 seasons as an active head coach, his offenses have ranked outside the top 10 in scoring four times.
One of those was in 2022, his first season with the Broncos, who ranked 10th in 2024.
Legendary QB Backs Bo Nix-Sean Payton Combo
GettyDenver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks to Bo Nix #10 during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Payton’s former star quarterback with the Saints, Drew Brees, believes Nix is perfectly equipped to operate his ex-coach’s scheme for the Broncos.
Likewise, Brees, who won a Super Bowl with Payton in 2009, believes he will maximize Nix.
“The system is fun to watch. Obviously, there’s still a ton of the core concepts that exist. The offense always evolves, just like it did when we were playing together. Because you know that every year, people are studying your offense,” Brees said on “This Is Football” on September 1. “Also, you’re sitting there stealing ideas from other places and into the guys that you have.
“You’re always trying to stay cutting edge and stay ahead of the curve. And I think we always wanted to feel like we were setting the standard for how offensive football should be played. And so, I watch. I love watching the Broncos. Love watching Sean. Man, Bo Nix is a really fun quarterback to watch. I think he’s got all the traits, all the tools. Great athlete. Really, really runs well. I don’t think he gets enough credit for how well he runs.”
“Big, strong athlete. Obviously, great with the short intermediate passing game. Very accurate. Gets the ball out of his hands quickly, but can really push the ball down the field as well. And I think in his second year now, he’s developed a comfort level with, I think, the complexity of the Sean Payton offense.
Brees was a five-year veteran and two years older than Nix is entering the 2025 campaign when Payton first got him in New Orleans. Still, by Year 4 together, Brees and Payton were Super Bowl champions.
Nguyen wrote it was “easy to see why” Payton “valued” Nix, adding that rival coaches “raved” about his putting the QB in “advantageous positions and work around his limitations.”
Payton’s challenge in Year 2 is helping the Broncos QB take another step in his development.
Lakers Former Champ Reveals Biggest ‘What-If’ Trade Of Kobe Era
The Los Angeles Lakers had immense success with the duo of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. They went to three straight NBA Finals, winning twice in 2009 and 2010. But even with that success, the Lakers were still looking for a way to improve.
Speaking with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Gasol revealed his thoughts on a potential Carmelo Anthony trade that would have had a major impact on the team and league for the following decade.
“Obviously we had a great run, three straight years,” Gasol said. “(But) players with different skillsets add something…You can’t really think about who else you would have loved to play with, if (we) would have had Carmelo.”
Gasol also spoke about Anthony’s career as a whole, with the forward being named one of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees for 2025. Anthony played for the Nuggets, Knicks, Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers, and eventually closed out his career with the Lakers, finishing 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with three Olympic gold medals.
Gasol On A Potential Anthony To Lakers Move
In 2011, Anthony was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks, but according to him, a potential move to Los Angeles was originally in play. Speaking on Dwyane Wade’s podcast earlier this summer, Anthony said that it was a ‘done deal‘ that he was going to become a Laker.
“The deal was done with the Lakers. Me and Nenê for Lamar Odom and Bynum,” Anthony said. “That deal was done. I never thought about New York.”
Now, discussing Anthony’s Hall of Fame career, Gasol commented on the potential move when asked by McMenamin.
“I don’t know (how) exactly that possibility could have happened,” Gasol said. “But the coulda-shoulda-woulda’s are always interesting, because it’s all imagining of what could be in a different situation with certain people.”
During that 2010/11 season, Anthony was in the prime of his career. He was averaging 25 points on 45% shooting, but adding him to the Lakers’ lineup with Bryant as their main scorer would have been a big change to what Los Angeles was used to over the past decade.
Gasol also commented on the potential Chris Paul to the Lakers trade that never came to fruition. He said that regardless of whether either of these trades were ever finalized, the Lakers team led by him and Bryant would have looked a lot different compared to the one that was on the court.
Praise Of Anthony’s Hall Of Fame Career
Though an Anthony to Lakers trade never came to fruition, the former NCAA champion’s success in the NBA spoke for itself. Now one of the newest inductees into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Gasol discussed some of the aspects of Anthony’s game that make him deserving of the honor.
“Melo was just a very difficult guy to guard,” Gasol said. “I saw a player who was determined, who was hungry, who wanted to continue to not just establish himself but really position himself in a different category. He was always a very aggressive offensive player.”
Offensively, Anthony was one of the best players in the NBA through the first 15 years of the millennium, even with the immense talent in his generation. His isolation scoring was top-notch, he was always liable to drop 40 on any given night, and he was very consistent, mostly during his time in Denver and New York.
Gasol believes that, besides just his scoring, Anthony’s versatility was what separated him from other forwards, whether it was in the NBA or international play.
“(He) was kind of more of that stretch four, the guy who can play the three and four position…Really taking advantage of his physicality, his body, his strength,” Gasol added. “Not just a prolific scorer, but him and Kevin Durant have a unique ability with their size, with their skillset, with their mindset, of really changing the game.”
Anthony’s 28,289 total points are the 10th most in NBA history. He was previously the USA’s leading scorer in international play before Durant broke his record in 2024, but his three gold medals are tied for the second-most ever. Anthony is a six-time All-NBA and ten-time All-Star honoree, and won the 2003 college basketball national championship with Syracuse.
