Good morning, Broncos Country!
Change is inevitable.
That is especially true in sports. And while it feels like the season just ended for the 2025-26 Denver Broncos, we’re already seeing change take place.
The Broncos team that was a game and a half away from the franchise’s fourth Lombardi Trophy will not look the same.
One major difference is that head coach Sean Payton will no longer call offensive plays. New offensive coordinator Davis Webb will now call the offensive plays in Denver.
This isn’t a minor change either. So that
speaks to the level of trust Payton has in Webb. Payton made the announcement at the NFL Combine earlier this week.
When he was asked if Webb has a gift for calling plays, Payton told the media:
“I think he does. I think he’s sharp, and I think he’s been around it. He’s a coach’s kid, played quarterback, and then in the preseason, it was really good. So yes. And again, I think that I want to do everything that I can to support him. So we’re not going to sit and grade his play-calling each week, at least, hopefully, we’re not. I think it’s more about the team.”
Payton will still have a hand in the offense; he’ll just have a more hands-off approach.
“I’m going to have opinions with plays,” Payton said to the media at the Combine. “Mine will be the bad ones; his will be all the good ones (laughing). But I want to support him in that. I can recall being in that situation. Even in Dallas, two or three years there, I don’t know that anyone knew who was calling plays. It was (Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach) Bill (Parcells) and myself. I think that stepping back and looking at it, he’ll do a fantastic job.”
In the process, this will allow Payton to better manage the game and the team as the game progresses. It’s no secret that Payton has struggled at times with clock and game management. The most recent example of that was the decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 early in the second quarter, rather than kicking a field goal, to give his team a 10-point lead in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.
Having Webb call the plays will allow Payton to have a more holistic approach to the game and his team.
“Sometimes you feel like your hand’s empty because you’re used to doing it for 20-some years,” Payton said. “I think overall, it will slow down a little bit. You’ll see more of the game. I know that there’s a lot of prior to the game prep when you’re calling one side of the ball or the other. So I know there’s philosophies.”
In the end, Payton thinks this move makes the Broncos better. This brings them closer to their goal of winning the Super Bowl. After a season where Denver came so close, the sense of urgency is a little more palpable than usual.
And while change is always difficult, this is one instance it could help the Broncos get closer to their goal of a Super Bowl win.
When asked if being so close makes this offseason a little more urgent, Payton told the media:
“That’s a great question. I think a little bit of both. You do have to know that you really have to go back. It’s painful, but you have to start from the beginning. You really do. From my lens, we won a lot of games by one score or less.
“I’m not naive enough to think those games couldn’t have swung. And you could grab any two or three, but where’s the meat on the bone? The meat on the bone exists with our takeaways. That has to improve. Our run game consistently. Consistency. Our meat on the bone relative to a number of things that we won despite maybe not being as good as others. I think that’s the only way to look at it relative to this team writing its own chapter and getting us to where we want to go, which is obviously a game and a half further than where we went.”
