Dre Greenlaw is still very unhappy with Sean Payton. The San Francisco 49ers linebacker made that abundantly clear after seeking out the Denver Broncos' head coach multiple times during the 49ers' win over Denver on Sunday. On some level, Greenlaw's explanation for his beef with Payton sounds like a player frustrated by his bad injury luck in recent years — he has appeared in 14 total games over the last three seasons, just four with the Broncos. So, of course he's upset that he was unceremoniously cast aside from a recent AFC finalist despite appearing in just four games.
But if Payton has any residual lingering animosity for the linebacker on his side of the matter, he sure didn't show it during his postgame press conference. If anything, Payton actually
took the high road over Greenlaw's emotional beef, saying he "thinks the world of him."
Well, huh. Talk about a polar opposite reaction to a roster situation between a player and their coach.
Sean Payton on Dre Greenlaw and his trash talking during the game:
— DNVR Broncos (@DNVR_Broncos) October 5, 2026
“I think the world of him. I love everything about him. He plays with that emotion.” pic.twitter.com/6FNOXC7bcH
If Payton sounds way too casual for Greenlaw's liking, it's probably because he has bigger fish to fry than talking about a linebacker he only really coached for four games. The Broncos are 2-2 and in third place in a competitive AFC West. They need all hands on deck right now. Greenlaw's gripe about apparently not getting a phone call from Payton after getting released is legitimate, to be sure, but it's probably not high on the coach's laundry list.
You can understand why Payton didn't react to the outburst all that much.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Sean Payton took the high road over Dre Greenlaw's emotional beef with him
