Sean McDermott Gushes About Denver Broncos HC Sean Payton: ‘He is Who He is For a Reason’
In the wake of the Denver Broncos’ 0-3 start, which was punctuated by a shocking 70-point loss to the Miami Dolphins, many in media, and a lot of fans, began to murmur about Sean Payton. Considered to be one of the brightest offensive minds of the modern NFL era, and a Super Bowl-winning head coach, Payton seemed like as sure of a hire as the Broncos’ new owners would ever find.
However, despite Denver’s historically slow start, it didn’t seem like Payton’s coaching peers across the NFL ever doubted his wherewithal. The same can be said of NFL players — outside of the various New York Jets who criticized Payton in defense of Nathaniel Hackett.
The Broncos will be facing one such peer this week in the form of Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott. A very successful coach himself, McDermott had “phenomenal” things to say about Payton at the podium on Thursday.
“He is who he is for a reason,” McDermott said via Bills Central. “He’s done a phenomenal job [and I have] a ton of respect. We’ve gone against each other countless times in the NFC South for years. We’ve had our battles, and he’s a phenomenal head coach, leader and really smart when you get a chance to get around him and talk with him. I’m not surprised that they’re playing the way that they are, beating the Chiefs and then watching their team come together the way it has.”
McDermott knows what he’s talking about. As defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers for six years, McDermott competed against Payton’s New Orleans Saints twice per season.
Being the man principally tasked with out-scheming Payton’s offensive acumen twice per year is no easy task, but McDermott’s Panthers defense had its successes. Having faced Payton as a head coach twice, McDermott is 1-1 — both being Bills-Saints contests.
The Broncos’ 16-game losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs was a great embarrassment to the franchise, so snapping it with a 24-9 win in Week 8 was both merciful and timely. But the way Payton’s squad beat the Chiefs was also impressive.
It was just one game, but it seems to have made people around the NFL sit up a little straighter in their seats on the subject of the Broncos. It most assuredly captured McDermott’s attention. The respect McDermott has for Payton is mutual, as evidenced by the Broncos head coach’s remarks at the podium this week.
“I’ve always respected him,” Payton said of McDermott on Thursday. “I think he’s a heck of a coach and a guy that I think a lot of. Things change, and there’s a little spin. There are some things that are a little different, but he’s done a really good job there.”
No doubt. Counting postseason, McDermott owns a 71-44 (.617) all-time record as head coach of the Bills. He took the job in Buffalo back in 2017, and after suffering through an up-and-down first year with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, Josh Allen fell into McDermott’s lap in the 2018 NFL draft. The Bills have never looked back.
Entering Week 10, Buffalo stands with a 5-4 record, with Denver at 3-5. McDermott’s traditionally dominant defense has faltered somewhat this season, but that Allen-led offense is still teeming with menace and ranks in the top-5 in most key NFL statistical areas.
Meanwhile, Payton has struggled to implement his traditional offensive scheme in Year 1 at the helm in Denver. But a big part of that is the trial-and-error learning curve of a savvy coach really getting to know his new personnel.
It’s been tough sledding, but Payton has Russell Wilson playing markedly better ball than the veteran quarterback displayed a year ago. Through eight games, Wilson has passed for 1,613 yards and a completion percentage of 66.1, which is among his career-high marks. With 16 touchdown passes, Wilson has already matched his total number of passing scores from 2022, and he’s only been picked off four times.
The fly in the ointment for Payton is the reality that Wilson is still taking a lot of sacks, and he’s fumbled the ball away too many times as a result. 26 sacks through eight games is excessive and difficult to overcome for any offense. Extrapolated over a 17-game season, it isn’t an improvement over the 55 sacks Wilson took in Year 1 as a Bronco.
Payton’s answer, in recent weeks, has been to double down with the rushing attack, which has helped insulate Wilson and softened up defenses. It’s a model for sustained success with Wilson, as his 10-year tenure in Seattle proved, especially if Payton can start scheming some big plays downfield with the play-action game and Vance Joseph’s defense continues to play predatory lights-out football.
“They’re coming together,” McDermott said of the Broncos. “Defensively, they’re holding people to fewer and fewer points since that game (Miami), and it seems like they’re coming into their own overall as a team, and I think that starts with the head coach.”
It’ll be fun to see how the next installment of the McDermott vs. Payton series pans out. Both coaches know each other’s schemes and tendencies quite well. The Bills are 7.5-point favorites on Monday Night Football, while the Broncos are rested after coming out of their bye week.
