In talking about his well-deserved contract extension, Wil Lutz inadvertently hit on why Sean Payton is consistently successful.
He’s addicted to winning.
“The guy wants to win,” Lutz said when asked if
the coach shifts his thinking this time of year. “He’s addicted to winning, and he’s brought in guys who are addicted to winning.”
And it’s not just addicted to winning for winning’s sake (though that certainly is a thing).
It’s what Payton says in any press conference when he’s asked about confidence among the team — winning builds confidence, and in turn, confidence is a huge factor in winning.
“He’s been very adamant,” Lutz added, “when you start stringing these wins together it becomes addicting and you don’t want to feel the other side of it.”
So a huge reason for Payton’s success in Denver — much like his success in New Orleans — is finding guys on his team who are as obsessed with winning as he is.
“He knows he has the right guys in here that we can talk about it, we can be excited about our success this far, and at the same time continue to work, continue to get better,” Lutz said. “No one’s looking in the rearview mirror. We’re all looking forward. Like I mentioned earlier, we’re trying to get the history of the Denver Broncos back to the winning ways they had for so long in the NFL.”
Having a clutch kicker like Lutz definitely harkens back to the days of championship Broncos football.
“He’s earned it,” Payton said Monday about the contract extension. “He’s played well, he’s consistent, and I think he’s got the respect of the locker room.”
That’s a big deal to Payton; locker room culture is as much a part of winning as the final scoreboard.
And like Payton, Lutz believes the Broncos’ locker room has the right guys for getting back to winning football.
“We have the right leadership to do it,” Lutz said. “It starts at the top, and it just kind of trickles down to everyone. It’s been fun, and I think everybody plans on continuing that.”
Lutz certainly plans on it.
Coming off AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after going 5-of-5 with the game-winner against the Chiefs, Lutz leads the NFL with four game-winning kicks this year for the 9-2 Broncos.
“You look at our offense and they’re finding ways to win games, and they’re experiencing how to do that,” Lutz pointed out. “With our defense, they’re doing the same thing. We’ve been able to do it as a special teams unit as of late. All we can do is keep our heads down and keep collecting those experiences, and using those to our advantage moving forward.”
Lutz also credits the new ownership for the turnaround in Denver and the obvious path forward for the Broncos.
“I think the cool part of anyone who’s been here the last few years is just seeing, but also feeling, the change that’s kind of going through this building,” he added, specifically highlighting Greg and Carrie Penner. “The word ‘no’ really isn’t in their vocabulary for their players, and I think you can tell by the vibes in the building. …You feel the change that’s happening, kind of getting back to the history of the Broncos and the winning ways that we’ve always had.”
