The news on Monday is that Davis Webb will be on the sideline this season.
As Sean Payton said, it’s not as if he and Webb are splitting atoms, but the Denver Broncos new offensive coordinator will call plays from the sideline as opposed to the Broncos’ coaching booth. It’s where Webb has spent his time as the quarterback coach in Denver, and clearly feels the most comfortable. Even if Payton and Webb haven’t even discussed it yet.
“I just think his presence as a teacher and as a coordinator, everyone’s different,” Payton said to the media on Monday. “He and I haven’t even talked about it and I know he felt the same way I did. So we both answered your questions prior to a meeting. We still haven’t had that meeting, but that’s probably … Yes, I see that happening.”
Payton went a little deeper into why he gave Webb playcalling duties on Up and Adams with Kay Adams on Monday. He also told her that Webb would call plays from the sideline. Payton told Adam that he saw something special in Webb. At the same time, Payton also told her that he’ll still be involved.
“Remember driver’s ed when it was in high school?” Payton said to Adams. “And you had the steering wheel but the teacher had the brake and they were right next to you? This is before they went online. So I’ll be next to him.”
Payton then immediately said:
“He’s not going to fail. He’s going to be great at it. And I’m going to make sure that he is. And we’ll be better as a team for it. … I think this guy has a chance to be special.”
Payton then again acknowledged that he wouldn’t do it if he didn’t think it would make the Broncos better.
“It was win driven,” he said to Adams. “It was, man, I don’t want to be the one to stop progress, if that’s the case.”
As for Webb calling plays from the sideline, quarterback Bo Nix is a fan.
“I’ve always loved it, from a quarterback to a play caller, when they’re on the sideline with me,” Nix said to the media on Monday. “I feel like they get the feel of the game a little bit differently. It’s obviously seeing the game from a different vantage point, but I think they get to feel the emotions on the sideline. They get to feel the comments from us coming off the sideline, what we’re seeing and all that kind of stuff. From his point of view and playing quarterback his whole career, I think that’s just where he feels comfortable.
“A lot of former quarterbacks like to call it from the sideline. I don’t know that’s the case, but that just seems to be how play callers roll. I like when the play caller is there with me and I can come off and have the eye-to-eye conversation. We can sit down and look at the pictures and go through them together and really get to hear from him and not have to call up to the office or get on a headset. I think the eye-to-eye communication is really important, so I’m excited that he’s going to be down there with us.”
