Sean Payton has called the plays for decades. This year, he’s handing the keys to Davis Webb. But when a reporter tried to pin the offense’s identity on him Wednesday, the Broncos head coach deflected.
Asked whether the attack is “his” system, Payton went right to the badge.
“It’s the Broncos, right?” Payton said. “I mean, I said this at the beginning, and I mean it, like I’m fully supportive — fully supportive of wanting us to be successful.”
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It’s the same tone that’s been a big part of Denver’s offseason — Payton giving up play-calling to Webb while Garett Bolles, Courtland Sutton and others line up to praise their new coordinator, who almost landed a head coaching gig elsewhere in the league.
“When you get older, you just want to win,” Payton said. “You always want to win, but you recognize maybe some of the mistakes you made when you were younger, where you pay too much attention to other things.”
Payton made sure everyone knew it’s not his system or the young hotshot assistant Webb’s — it’s the Broncos as a whole.
“What does it fit with our people,” Payton said. “It moves with the personnel that moves in and out of it. It moves with Bo Nix. What does he do well? It moves with the pieces of players that are in there, and so I think that’s most important.”
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Payton said the handoff to Webb has been “organic.” There has been no formal sit-down where the new coordinator pitched a list of ideas.
“Hey, this is what we’re going to call this now,” Payton said.
Payton relinquishing the call sheet is meant to free him up to coach Nix more closely on game days, and the head coach made clear the offense will bend to the quarterback’s strengths.
It’s the Broncos’ offense. Or, really, it’s Nix’s.