Payton Offers Belichick Coaching Tidbit in Shocking Feature

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton got down and candid in a recent feature by Seth Wickersham of ESPN, and he threw in a stunning little coaching tidbit about his old coaching buddy, Bill Belichick, along with a report of a fake punt call in the division round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills  that didn’t quite happen. 

The report was delivered by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, and it was based on an extended piece in which Wickersham did a follow-along with the Denver coach for an extended stretch that included Denver’s late season struggles and the team’s playoff games. 

The Belichick bit was one of best in a feature that was full of insider material, although most of it was obviously carefully dished out by Payton. According to Florio, "Payton (who had just finished his first year with the Broncos) 'considered suggesting' to owner Greg Penner that Payton would step back to the position of assistant head coach, running the offense. Belichick would hold the job until he won 15 games, breaking Don Shula’s all-time record of 347."

This was just one example of the near-absolute power Payton apparently holds in Denver, as Wickersham frequently focused on the coach’s occasionally dictatorial leadership style, which included tantrums, whimsical changes in strategy and sudden shifts in approach that doubtless left his staff spinning on multiple occasions. 

In the end, Wickersham noted, the temporary pivot to Belichick in charge, “was too complicated — and maybe too fanciful.” 

In a separate report on the same piece from Michael David Smith of PFT, Smith delved into the extensive process of deciding the plays that would be called in playoffs, including a fake punt that didn’t quite happen against the Buffalo Bills in Denver’s 33-30 win in the divisional round. According to Wickersham, the Broncos had “the right look,” but ultimately decided not to run the play. 

The best part of the piece is Wickersham’s coaching version of the play-by-play in the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots as the Broncos came up agonizingly short. 

The ESPN writer provides detailed verbiage about the plays that were called and discarded, and he included plenty of nuanced material about the mistake Payton made in going for a touchdown in the first half to try to build a 14-0 lead at halftime. Wickersham also details Denver’s failure in the Broncos final drive from deep in New England territory at the 33-yard line, including the field goal attempt from kicker Wil Lutz that failed in a brief, driving snowstorm that produced near-white out conditions at times.