Sean Payton was introduced as the Denver Broncos’ new head coach this week.
Much like they did with Russell Wilson, the front office paid a heavy toll to get their man.
Denver shipped out the No. 29 overall pick in this year’s draft and a 2024 second-round selection for one of the most respected head coaches in the game.
The hope, obviously, is that Payton will be able to fix what ailed Wilson in 2022-23.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as though Payton was all that excited to coach Wilson.
This week Terry Bradshaw did a radio interview where he unveiled Payton’s mindset during the recruitment process.
First Bradshaw revealed why Payton didn’t want to end up with the Arizona Cardinals.
“Arizona? Nah. No. That quarterback, he didn’t wanna work with that quarterback,” Bradshaw said.
Terry Bradshaw knew about Sean Payton.
Vic knew Terry knew.
Here’s the scoop:@VicLombardi | @AltitudeTV | @NFLonFOX | @SuperBookSports | #SuperBowl | #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/SPov3bEAfI
— 92.5 FM – Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio (@AltitudeSR) February 7, 2023
Then, when quizzed on Payton finally landing with Denver, Bradshaw dropped the bomb.
“Uh … I don’t think so,” he replied on whether Payton preferred Wilson to Kyler Murray.
“But you know what, that’s all he’s got,” Bradshaw continued.
“He’s got no choice. But I’ll tell you one thing: he’ll get the most out of him. You already heard him say, they’ll be no private locker (and coaches for Wilson) — I can’t believe people do stuff like that. … The teammates see that preferential treatment, they don’t like it. … He’ll stop that.”
That’s obviously not great.
Over the past few months Wilson has made more headlines for the provocative video his wife publicly sent him than any substantive football-related matters. He looked totally washed last year, and it feels like Payton has a Herculean task ahead of him in getting Wilson back to being a competent NFL quarterback.
Rihanna’s video tribute to the GOAT after he made history. https://t.co/OX5Zeo7pN9
— Game 7 (@game7__) February 8, 2023
That said, if anyone can do it – it’s Payton.
The 2023-24 NFL season will be telling. Either Wilson will reclaim his place as one of the league’s better quarterbacks, or Payton will go down as the latest bad decision Broncos brass has made over the past couple of years.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.