Sean Payton Called Out Over Seahawks’ Coach’s Comments, Talks With Raiders Owner

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton drew attention in the wake of ESPN’s Seth Wickersham revealing he floated the idea of stepping down to an assistant role and hiring Bill Belichick so that the latter could break the all-time wins record.

However, Wickersham’s deep dive revealed more than that, some of which has drawn even more attention to Payton.

That includes his relationship with Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady.

Sean Payton Takes Heat Over Detail About Broncos Assistants

GettySean Payton’s approach has the Denver Broncos head coach under the microscope.

Several times in Wickersham’s piece, the author makes note of Payton’s long nights at the office with Broncos coaches, something that predates his time with the Broncos and harkens back to lessons learned from Hall of Famer Bill Parcells.

During an interview with Dan Patrick, reigning Super Bowl champion and Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was candid about his approach, which skews the other way.

Macdonald joked that if he is “making decisions after 9 p.m., we’re in trouble.”

“Wild to have just read @SethWickersham piece on Sean Payton essentially never letting his assistants leave the office and then hear this from Macdonald,” Seattle Sports’ Mike Lefko posted on X on July 9. “One coach has perspective and just won a Super Bowl, the other is Sean Payton.”

“Unlike some coaches, Payton doesn’t arrive to the office at 4:30 a.m. He’s more likely to leave at 4:30 a.m,” Wickersham wrote on July 7. Because assistant coaches still have work to do after these meetings end, they’re forced to be both morning people and night owls.

Wickersham added that assistants “fight diminishing returns” in various ways, including “standing, stretching, eating snacks, sipping drinks cold and hot, grabbing air, taking the long way to the bathroom and the longer way back, dipping real and synthetic snuff, by multitasking. They stifle yawns as Payton’s eyes sharpen.”

However, Payton’s intense approach is also part of why he is “almost scary” with his ability to recall “the minutiae of a decades-old” play.

Mike Macdonald Catches Up to Sean Payton

GettyMike Macdonald tied Sean Payton in Super Bowl wins this past season.

Lefko’s remarks omit the fact that Payton is himself a Super Bowl-winning head coach, but could also be suggesting that the Broncos’ coach’s way of thinking is outdated in the current NFL landscape, as a fan suggested in his replies.

The Broncos were also one win away from the Super Bowl, losing to the New England Patriots–who Macdonald’s Seahawks defeated–in the AFC Championship Game.

The final margin of that contest was 10-7.

That was with Payton’s Broncos missing starting quarterback Bo Nix. There is no way to know how different the Super Bowl would have turned out if the Broncos had made it instead of the Patriots, who lost to the Seahawks 29-13.

Sean Payton Calls Tom Brady

GettySean Payton calls Tom Brady for inspiration.

Another part of Wickersham’s piece caught attention, as it revealed Payton often contacts various sports figures to spark creativity, including Brady, minority owner of the Broncos’ AFC West rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders.

“On the drive to work, he’ll call Tom Brady, or John Elway, or Wayne Gretzky, or even people like me for crying out loud, hoping casual conversation brings inspiration,” Wickersham wrote.

That caught the attention of Raider Nation.

“Now, let’s clarify a few things first: Brady isn’t selling state secrets about the Silver and Black to Payton, nor does Brady seem aware that Payton has a motive behind these phone calls. But it still strikes me as a bit weird for Brady to be on the phone with a rival coach at all during the season,” Just Blog Baby’s Levi Dombro wrote on July 10.

“I’m not blaming Brady; he probably just views this as one of many calls that he fields from any number of notable people during the day. If he knew he was helping out the Broncos, he’d probably stop.”

Dombro cited Payton’s past and the “Bountygate” scandal.

That earned the Broncos head coach a one-year suspension while he was still with the New Orleans Saints.

“Is it a stretch to conclude that Payton could be using his friendship with Brady to, at the very least, help the Broncos, if not hurt the Raiders?” Dombro wrote. “I wouldn’t put it past Payton. And I just don’t love that these two are ever on the phone in-season.”

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