As far as reboots go, Hollywood could do a lot worse than what the Denver Broncos have cooked up over the last few days.
Since Denver head coach Sean Payton compared rookie quarterback Bo Nix to Ferris Bueller — the main character played by Matthew Broderick in the 1986 classic teen comedy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” — his comments have taken on a life of their own.
Payton’s comments stemmed from a relatively minor sideline dustup between Payton and Nix during a 34-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on October 6.
“There’s still a little bit of Ferris Bueller in this player that we got to get rid of,” Payton said in his postgame comments. “I’m talking about Bo, and I love him to death. Sometimes it’s my love language … did you watch the movie? Have you ever seen it?”
Nix got the final say with a magnificent, tongue-in-cheek video posted to his Instagram account that featured clips from the movie and it’s unmistakable soundtrack sandwiched with highlights of Nix and his teammates from the Broncos’ win.
“Life moves pretty fast,” Nix wrote in his IG post, quoting Broderick’s most famous lines from the film. “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
The movie is the rare classic that stretches across generations — from Baby Boomers to Gen Z — so it wasn’t hard to infer Payton was referring to Nix’s youth and his sometimes freewheeling, mistake-prone play on the field.
Payton’s Interesting Connection to ‘Bueller’
Payton name-checking “Bueller” runs a little deeper than some might understand.
Payton grew up in the Chicago suburbs in Naperville, Illinois — Hughes set most of his greatest movies in the Chicago suburbs and the city itself.
Hughes’ first hit as a screenwriter or director was “National Lampoon’s Vacation” in 1983 — when Payton was a freshman quarterback at Eastern Illinois University.
“Bueller” tells the story of a rebellious high school senior and his quest for the perfect day off skipping school with his best friend and girlfriend and was Hughes’ biggest hit in a string of hits after being made for a mere $5 million and grossing approximately $70 million at the box office.
Broderick was nominated for a Golden Globe and the role made him an A-List movie star and international celebrity.
“It eclipsed everything, I should admit, and to some degree it still does,” Broderick told journalist Susannah Gora about the movie and the role in 2010.
Hughes died of a heart attack in 2009. He was 59 years old.
Nix First Rookie QB to Start for Broncos Since 1983
The rebellious aspect of Nix’s personality might fade with time — for now it’s a fun time to be a Broncos fan after winning 3 consecutive games following an 0-2 start. Nix, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, had his best game so far against the Raiders, going 19-of-27 passing for 206 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for a touchdown.
Nix is also the first rookie quarterback to start for the Broncos since Pro Football Hall of Famer, 2-time Super Bowl champion and former No. 1 overall pick John Elway in 1983.
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