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Russell Wilson didn’t have the best season of his career in 2022, and recently hired Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton acknowledged that at the 2023 NFL Combine during a February 28 media scrum.
“Certainly, for Russell standards—and the Bronco standards—it wasn’t the type of year that they wanted,” Payton said. “And typically, that’s why new head coaches arrive. We have a lot of work ahead of us right now. We’re just kind of getting started.”
That was Payton’s sentiment when discussing the team as a whole. “It was a tough year,” he said.
Payton did defend his quarterback to the media as well, though, calling out the reporters in Indianapolis for not focusing on Wilson’s reported second-floor office away from other players.
“Someone said it last night—I forget what I was watching—if they have success last [year], I don’t think the upstairs meeting room matters to anybody,” Payton told reporters. “I don’t think it matters because I didn’t see any articles from any of you prior to Week 1 or Week 2 and that was happening. That’s what happens when you lose. Everything gets looked at closely, including the coaching.”
Sean Payton Arranged Dinner With Russell Wilson & Joe Montana
During the second weekend of February in Glendale, Arizona with the Super Bowl in town, Payton arranged a dinner with his new quarterback Wilson and four-time Super Bowl Champion and three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Joe Montana.
#Broncos coach Sean Payton on Russell Wilson as he tries to bounce back from substandard season #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/GcPDFkQWaB
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 28, 2023
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The conversation, as Payton explained, centered around how Wilson can pivot away from a down year under rookie offensive coordinator Justin Outten.
“I know Russell was interested in talking about where we’re going, and I was interested in learning from Joe Montana,” Payton said to reporters on February 28. “It was a good conversation. We’re looking forward to the start of the season, obviously.”
Wilson had the lowest completion rate of his career (60.5%) during the 2022 season, while he threw 11 interceptions in 15 games and had a career-low 16 passing touchdowns.
Sean Payton Got Davis Webb Recommendation From Eli Manning
Payton hired Davis Webb to be the Broncos quarterbacks coach on February 23, and he reportedly did so after receiving positive intel about the two-time former Giants reserve signal-caller from two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, as well as current New York head coach Brian Daboll.
“He came highly recommended from a bunch of different coaches, Brian Daboll and Eli Manning,” Payton said at the NFL Combine on February 28. “I kept hearing the same things about him, so we brought him in. He did a really good job.”
Payton referenced Webb being the son of a successful high school coach in touting the new hire’s preparation of his craft. “Davis is a coach’s kid,” he said. “He had a file on his computer of every game plan he’s ever had since he was in high school — in college at Texas Tech, and then [after Patrick] Mahomes comes in and he transfers [to California]. It was pretty impressive going through the process. The fit for us, specifically with that room, will be good.”
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