Sean Payton won’t let Russell Wilson have separate QB coach
The Denver Broncos introduced Sean Payton as the latest head coach in franchise history on Monday. Naturally, a lot of topics were covered. Naturally, some of those topics had to do with quarterback Russell Wilson.
We’ve heard so many ideas about how Wilson had been broken just out of the blue last year—his first with the Broncos. One of the reasons people came up with was the fact that he had his own quarterbacks coach. That could have been a reason for some miscommunications Wilson and his receivers, running backs, and the offensive line had last year.
That’s something that Sean Payton plans on changing in his first year as the team’s head coach.
Sean Payton will be making a big change when it comes to Russell Wilson. Asked about Wilson having his own quarterbacks coach and staff in the building, Payton said that is “foreign” to him and that it won’t be happening.
— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) February 6, 2023
I really like this. It shows that Payton is instantly taking command of this team and working toward changing things up. Being proactive and changing the things that haven’t been working is a great sign and a breath of fresh air. The thing is, Payton has been around long enough to have a strong idea of what works and what doesn’t work.
He had Drew Brees for basically his entire career with the New Orleans Saints—who went to the Super Bowl in 2009 against Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts. The combination of Payton and Brees was tremendous.
Honestly, I’m very curious to see who Payton brings in to be Wilson’s coach. Several names are floating around and one of those names could be the Seahawks’ current quarterbacks coach, Dave Canales.
Canales was with Wilson in Seattle for several years. While there is competition for Canales’ services, the Broncos might be wise to look into him.
Dave Canales was Seattle passing game coordinator in 2020. Result? Russell Wilson had his best season stat wise. Threw for 4.200+ yards and 40 TDs. Also solid working individually with Geno Smith this year. Geno was a Top 5 QB. Uses a lot of vertical routes. I like this for Lamar
— Pedro H. Rhormes (@rhormes_) February 1, 2023
It’s certainly possible that Payton brings in somebody new altogether—someone who he had worked with but Wilson hadn’t. That would be an interesting scenario. A name you could also watch is Joe Lombardi, who was the quarterbacks’ coach of the Saints from 2016-2020.
Whoever ends up being that coach for Wilson will be handpicked by Payton and there should not be any confusion about that going forward.