Bo Nix and Sean Payton
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Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and head coach Sean Payton.
Since the Denver Broncos lost to the New England Patriots at home in the AFC Championship Game, there seems to have been 1 issue after another with head coach Sean Payton — issues that now seem like they could impact the future of Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.
Payton was called out by The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Danny Kelly after the 2 pointed out a string of incidents with Payton over the last year which seem to indicate a pattern of erratic offseason behavior.
The conversation about Payton started when Simmons asked Kelly what his “single craziest offseason prediction that actually has a chance to happen” was.
“The Broncos trade Bo Nix because of all this Sean Payton-Nix sort of drama that’s happened, even though it’s probably not all that much drama,” Kelly said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” on Thursday.
“It didn’t feel like nothing,” Simmons replied.
There’s plenty of evidence to back the last part up.
Nix, Payton at Odds Over Ankle Injury
Payton got things off on the wrong foot when he implied that Nix’s broken ankle suffered in the AFC Divisional Round win over the Buffalo Bills may have been the result of a congenital condition.
“What was found was a condition that was predisposed — they always find a little more when they go in,” Payton said on January 26. “It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when. When you look at the play and you’re trying to evaluate it — the operating surgeon said that this was going to happen sooner than later. Now, you go about the rehab, proper orthotics, all those things.”
Nix, who will be eligible for a massive contract extension after the 2026 season, was quick to clap back against his coach for talking about his medical history.
“Nothing predisposed, nothing that was there originally,” said Nix, who had surgery 3 days after the injury and was given a 4-6 week time frame to resume football activities. “That might have gotten confused. Just a simple step with my foot up in the air, my body weight came down on it, sort of got twisted up. … It could have been a worse landing, but I think all that force went into the only place it could. I don’t think (Payton) should share how many surgeries I’ve had in the past, to be honest with you … he doesn’t even really know that. But it’s going to be good to get back, get back to work. … Nothing really concerns me, nothing scares me moving forward.”
Payton Put Reporters On ‘Time Out’ at Combine
Kelly also pointed out Payton’s erratic behavior at the NFL scouting combine, where he put a Broncos beat reporter on “Time Out” during a press conference.
“Let’s call it what it is,” Simmons said. “Sean Payton has acted really (expletive) weird this whole season and this offseason. It’s not just 1 thing. It’s like 7 different things that just are … weird. You’re supposed to be the most stable person in your organization, and you’re not … he’s seemed like a huge prick for the last year or so.”
Payton, who led the Saints to a Super Bowl win following the 2009 season, has seen controversy in his career before. Most notably, when he was suspended by the NFL for the entire 2012 season over the Saints’ Bountygate scandal, in which Payton and his coaching staff were shown to have paid bonuses to players for injuring star players on other teams.