Well, this won't endear Sean Payton to many people. On Sunday, following the Denver Broncos' 26-21 win over the Carolina Panthers, he asked a reporter not to smoke. The problem was, they weren't smoking.
The strange sequence came as Payton was addressing the media during the post-game press conference following the Broncos' fifth straight victory. He stopped himself to say, "Can we not smoke in here, please?" Before realizing the reporter he thought was smoking only had a pen in their mouth.
Payton likely didn't think that moment would go viral, but it was a hot topic as soon as it took place.
This is fantastic 😂 Sean Payton thought he saw a reporter smoking in the post game press conference pic.twitter.com/VyRxRcXUi6
— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) November 8, 2026
"Oh, you're not smoking; you've
got a pencil," said Payton. "I'm sorry, I thought you were smoking. I owe ya. But I had a flashback and I was just thinking, 'Who's smoking a cigarette?'" That drew a small laugh from the crowd, but Payton is being grilled on social media.
Sean Payton drawing the ire of many on social media
Outside of Broncos Country, Payton is not a well-liked coach. He's still the guy connected to Bountygate for many, and that will never be forgiven by those fans. He's also the guy who publicly threw former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett under the bus for the job he did in Denver, which brought criticism from many, including then-New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Payton is just a default jerk…
— Donald Trump POTUS (parody) (@thedonald_POTUS) November 8, 2026
You really think someone gonna be smoking in there. What a werid man.
— UncGoTriZz (@onlygodschosen) November 8, 2026
he knew damn well nobody was smoking....ugh, this dude irks me
— tebybae (@raison_detremoi) November 9, 2026
Wow. Tried to get a man fired for smoking and was caught red handed. Sean Payton should be banned from the NFL and put in Guantanamo Bay.
— Marvin (@wasneverpopular) November 8, 2026
And there are many more where those came from. That said, it's an innocent mistake that is going to get blown up into an incredibly negative story when there is nothing negative there.
The exchange happened with the Denver Post's Sean Keeler, who noted on social media that he and Payton are "cool" after the "simple mistake."
3. We're cool, Sean and I. Simple mistake. We both laughed.
— Sean Keeler (@SeanKeeler) November 9, 2026
4. I don't smoke. Never have.
5. It was, without a doubt, the SECOND strangest exchange I've had with a football coach over the last 30 months. ;)#Broncos #BroncosCountry #NFL #Denver #Colorado #DENvsCAR…
Right now, Payton has a team that has set a new NFL record by winning its 16th consecutive one-score game. He has a strong Super Bowl contender and he knows it, so it's likely that any criticism he gets from this will be easily laughed off.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Sean Payton thought reporter was smoking at presser (this was the reporter's response)
