INDIANAPOLIS – In another time and place, you could have bet your bottom dollar that there’s no way Sean Payton would willingly give up calling the plays.
Not him. Payton has for a long time been one of the NFL’s sharpest minds when it comes to designing and running an offense. A former quarterback, he was made for the challenge of drawing up some scheme and then springing it to life at the perfect time – like Bill Walsh, Mike Shanahan or Mike Holmgren used to do – and absolutely loved it.
It seemed like a lifeline for Payton.
Yet as the Denver Broncos coach explained his decision to turn over the play-calling to rising coaching star Davis Webb during his media session at the NFL combine this week – the most shocking news to emerge as powerbrokers gather to formulate the league’s epicenter in the ramp-up to the draft and free agency – it was apparent that this is clearly a different time and place in the arc of Payton’s journey.
Someone asked why and Payton didn’t stutter. He didn’t dismiss the influence of wanting to ensure that Webb remains on his staff. At least for now.
“You have coaches that you definitely want to retain,” Payton said, mindful of the interest in Webb on an NFL landscape that, fair or not, continues to favor young, offensive-minded coaches. “It’s never going to be quite on your timeline.”
The more he talked about Webb, a 31-year-old former quarterback with a lot of swag, the more he sounded like he was describing a younger version of himself.
Sure, Payton seemingly has swallowed a lot of pride in making this move. Although it comes a few weeks after the controversial fourth-and-one bootleg backfired in the AFC championship game, he revealed that he and Webb discussed the possibility at midseason. It would not have been shocking, though, if he retained the play-calling duties and let the chips fall as they may. After all, his calling card is wrapped in confidence.
Yet Payton, 62, landed on another point that resonated.
“It’s still going to be our offense,” he said, “but I think it’s easier to do as you get older and you look at, ‘How do we win more games?’ ”
No, this is not so much about ego. It’s about winning.
As Payton put it, he would not have turned this over to Webb if he didn’t think it would help the Broncos. Let’s take him at his word on that. Maybe Webb, who landed his first coaching job in 2023, handling quarterbacks for Payton, can put his stamp on the offense by making the right call at the right time. And his relationship with young quarterback Bo Nix is undoubtedly on solid footing.
Yet here’s how it can also help the Broncos: Payton gets the opportunity for growth – even now, twice as old as Webb – as the game-day manager that may add another layer of impact to his role as coach. When someone asked whether the move would allow him to better focus during games, Payton didn’t automatically take that bait.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Like I said, sometimes you feel like your hand’s empty because you’re used to doing it for 20-some years. I think overall, it will slow down a bit. You’ll see more of the game.”
And with that, even an old soul like Payton seemingly has can learn new ways to win.
Payton chuckled when flashing back to the time, during his tenure as Saints coach, when he gave-up play-calling duties to coordinator Pete Carmichael, as he nursed an injury. The Saints scored 63 points as they blasted the Indianapolis Colts on ‘Sunday Night Football’.
“I’m like, ‘Pete, you’re killing me!’ ” Payton recalled.
Payton wasn’t the only coach at the combine to announce that he’s relinquishing the play-calling role. With much less fanfare (and profile), Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales is passing the duty along to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik. Canales, heading into his third season, pointed to Idzik’s continuity in the scheme – Idzik came from Tampa Bay with Canales, and their connection goes back seven years, when they worked on Pete Carroll’s staff with the Seattle Seahawks.
No, Canales doesn’t have Payton’s track record. Yet he also mentioned that his move is an opportunity to be more involved in the team’s overall culture across the entire building – hardly an issue, though, for Payton, who doesn’t mind owning his micro-manager reputation – and he acknowledged the potential game-day impact. Canales had a couple of instances in the Week 17 win-or-else matchup against the Bucs when his need to get the next play in seemingly hindered him from challenging closer officiating calls.
It may be tough to imagine how Payton, a vibrant member of the NFL’s competition committee, could be more active in flow-of-game decisions. But we’ll see.
New Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken can relate. The former Baltimore Ravens coordinator, who will continue calling plays in his new role, once gave up play-calling duties during his stint as head coach at Southern Mississippi. He thought, at that time, it helped him better assess the big picture and was comfortable because his staff was aligned. Of course, that’s not where he is in taking over the Browns.
In pondering the moves by Payton and Canales, Monken said, “You’ve got to get things going in the direction you want, work with somebody long enough to where you feel comfortable handing that over.”
Then again, Payton’s involvement in the Broncos offense will still be impactful. After all, there are the matters of designing and installing plays and when the preparation for games begin, of crafting the gameplan.
“Listen, I’ll still … I’m going to have opinions with plays,” Payton said. “Mine will be bad ones, his will be all the good ones.”
Payton knows. Collaboration is the key. While working under Bill Parcells for three years as the Dallas Cowboys assistant head coach, Payton remembers, “I don’t know that anyone remembers who was calling the plays. It was Bill and myself.”
Now it is Payton and Webb.
“I’m sure there are going to be times where I say, ‘This is what I want to run,’ ” Payton said. “But there’s trust there. There’s trust with his ability and trust in our relationship.”
And hey, if it works, maybe Payton will become the first coach in NFL history to win two Super Bowls with two different franchises. And perhaps Webb would be better positioned as an even hotter item on the market.
One thing for sure: It will be worth watching.
Contact Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell
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