Getty Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton
After the Denver Broncos officially parted ways with quarterback Russell Wilson, former All-Pro wide receiver Roddy White berated Broncos head coach Sean Payton and former Broncos star Mark Schlereth.
“Dude, that Broncos roster was really good … now it’s dismantled by a man that time has passed him by,” White posted on X on March 14, referring to Payton. “Man yelling at Russ like his resume is better than Russ’s last time I checked Russ went to 2 Super Bowl not one.”
He also took a shot at Schlereth, a color commentator on Fox’s NFL coverage, saying, “[Then] I got to hear Mark come on live TV and lie to the world to protect someone who [is going to] be fired in 3 years. He [is going to] blame it on the cap and the roster, which he tore apart.”
Schlereth had appeared on the March 7 episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” praising Payton for the “surgery” he’s been performing on the underachieving Broncos in his two seasons as head coach.
Wilson, who signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after getting released by the Broncos, went to back-to-back Super Bowls with the Seattle Seahawks, winning in 2014 and losing in 2015. Payton went to one Super Bowl as coach of the New Orleans Saints, winning in 2010 behind future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.
However, White’s claim about Wilson’s having the better winning percentage is inaccurate. Wilson won 124 of 204 games played (including playoffs) for a 60.78% rate, while Payton has won 169 of 275 games coached for 61.45%.
“For eight years this place has been garbage and the Denver Broncos used to be a crown jewel of the National Football League..
I’m glad that they’re tearing it down and trying to rebuild it” ~ @markschlereth #PMSLive
Roddy White Claims Sean Payton Won Because Drew Brees ‘Carried’ Him
GettyRoddy White played his entire NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons.
Payton had nine seasons of at least 10 wins during his 15-year tenure with the Saints, coinciding with their playoff berths. New Orleans reached the NFC championship game thrice, including the 2009 season, when they won it all.
But the 2010 First Team All-Pro wideout minimized Payton’s success by tweeting on March 14, “Sean [Payton] time has passed him by don’t matter who he gets in the draft. Drew [Brees] carried that man, and he ain’t done nothing since.”
Brees retired after the 2020 season as a two-time Offensive Player of the Year, five-time All Pro and a 13-time Pro Bowler with the most 5,000-yard seasons all-time with 5.
Without Brees, Payton has a 17-17 coaching record. He has had starting quarterbacks in his last two seasons, including Wilson, Jarrett Stidham, Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill.
Yet even with Brees at the helm, the Saints finished with a 7-9 record in 2012 when Payton served a 1-year suspension for “Bountygate.”
White, whose Atlanta Falcons won only seven of their 22 games against Payton’s Saints, said he was criticizing the coach as a fan, not a former NFC South rival.
“Your job as a coach is to put the players in the best position to make plays, and he didn’t do that,” he posted.
The numbers indicate that Wilson played better under Payton in 2023 than under Payton’s predecessor, Nathaniel Hackett, in 2022. He had a higher completion percentage (66.4 to 60.5) and threw for more touchdowns (26 to 16) and fewer interceptions (11 to 8).
Denver’s record improved from 5-12 in 2022 to 8-9 last season.
Mark Schlereth Responds to White’s Post
GettySchlereth
Responding to White’s initial post, Schlereth wrote, “Good roster? They averaged 6 wins a year over those years! Get out of here with that garbage!”
In his “The Pat McAfee Show” appearance, he said, “So ultimately, it is time to quit putting Band-Aids on gaping wounds, and it’s time to perform some surgery. I think that’s exactly what Sean Payton’s doing.”
Than I got to hear mark come on live tv and lie to the world to protect someone who gone be fired in 3 years. He gone blame it on the cap and the roster which he tore apart. Traded away all the good players to rebuild. How when u in the division with Andy and now Jim he done
The spat between White and Schlereth goes beyond the topic of Payton. On March 10, Schlereth said about wide receiver Jerry Jeudy’s trade to the Cleveland Browns, “I’ve been telling you for the last two years is what a bust Jerry Jeudy is at the wide receiver position. … As far as a football player, he’s just not a good football player. Doesn’t run secondary routes well to attract coverage, drops the football, doesn’t block, good riddance.”
White responded on March 14, “Mark Schlereth (you) don’t be watching film cause running (Jeudy) on choice routes is not good coaching. Russ throws the ball outside the numbers. Everybody knows that, and he didn’t do that because his offense is more throw the ball over the middle of the field.”