Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton can already envision the team lifting the Super Bowl trophy at the end of the season.
The Denver Broncos were once perennial contenders. Making it to the playoffs was almost a foregone conclusion. They, however, have tapered off over the last few years, and Broncos coach Sean Payton want to put an end to that.
The Broncos qualified for the playoffs last season, ending an eight-year drought. While they were booted out by the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round, it's clear that Payton has steered the squad to the right direction.
Now entering his third year in Denver, buoyed by the continued improvement of sophomore quarterback Bo Nix and a slew of roster changes, the 61-year-old Payton's confidence is as high as the Rocky Mountains.
“I like this team a lot,” said Payton in a report from Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson.
“I’ve talked about a Super Bowl. (Since the) first meeting I had with them. First meeting.”
When he signed with the Broncos in 2023 to end a brief retirement, he stressed the relevance of the job in trying to lead them back to the top. The team hasn't made it to the Super Bowl since winning it all in 2016.
For Payton, all the pieces are in place in Denver, and he can already envision the squad lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy this season.
“The short-term goal is winning the division. But this is a team capable of winning the Super Bowl. I’ve coached six teams that I thought could win the Super Bowl. Some went to championship games, some to the playoffs,” said the one-time AP Coach of the Year.
“This is my seventh team that I think has that.”
Of course, it will be easier said than done for the Broncos, especially with the Kansas City Chiefs still lording it over in the AFC West.
But sometimes, believing is half the battle, and Payton is a perennial believer.
Sean Payton can’t hold back Bo Nix excitement in 4-word voicemail
Broncos head coach Sean Payton could not hold back his excitement about QB Bo Nix in a 4-word voicemail he left for Dianna Russini.
The Denver Broncos are ready to take a big leap forward during the 2025 NFL season. Denver made the playoffs during Bo Nix's rookie season, but they got trashed by the Bills. Now they are hoping to build off a strong offseason and have another successful season in 2025.
NFL insider Dianna Russini shared a hilarious voicemail she received from Broncos head coach Sean Payton about Bo Nix.
“You understand why he does the things he does and how he operates and when he’s in love,” Russini said on Monday on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “And he’s in love with this team right now. Like even this summer. Coach reached out to me a few times checking in and I missed the call, which you know, how do you miss a head coach calling you but it happens. And he just left me a voicemail. I got to see if I still have it. I don’t have a message it’s just a beep and it’s just Sean Payton going, ‘I love my Q’ and he hangs up.”
Russini added that Payton's excitement about Nix ahead of the 2025 season does not seem like “coach talk.”
It is easy to understand Payton's enthusiasm about Nix in Denver. The legendary head coach finally has a quarterback who he is confident in.
Payton and Nix could be ready to usher in a new era of Broncos football later this fall.
