Russell Wilson will soon be Sean Payton’s best bud or on his block list

There’s a new head coach-quarterback duo in Denver in 2023. Could this be the beginning of Russell Wilson’s and Sean Payton’s beautiful friendship?

The Denver Broncos thought they had their man in Russell Wilson, but Wilson went off and recorded a pitiful offensive season in 2022. The former Seattle Seahawks quarterback signed away his future to Denver and already got his bag, yet the Broncos brought in Sean Payton this offseason to make Wilson’s stay in Denver a little bit more….manageable.

Payton reportedly wasn’t Denver’s first choice of head coach. He wasn’t even their second. The longtime New Orleans Saints coach was nearly about to go back into television for one more year, but in the end, he couldn’t resist a fixer-upper with bones as good as Russell Wilson and the Broncos.

In 15 games last season, Wilson recorded career-lows in touchdown passes (16) and completion percentage (60.5) and quickly became the running gag of the Denver franchise. Broncos country did not, in fact, ride happily into the sunset that year, and the team will be looking to undergo a massive turnaround and set themselves back on track to playoff contention.

On the field, Payton has yet to prove whether he can maximize Wilson’s strengths and mold him into a more productive passer in Denver’s offensive scheme. Off the field, will the two of them even get along?

The Russell Wilson and Sean Payton experiment could blow up in Broncos’ faces

Apparently, Russell Wilson has been talking to Saints quarterback legend Drew Brees — talking a little bit too much to him perhaps. Payton recently joked that Brees told him, “Russell is wearing me out” with phone calls and texts, giving the impression that Wilson is somewhat of a high-maintenance friend to have around, the kind of person who would be offended if someone left him on “read”.

Wilson and Payton already butted heads when Payton told the media he wasn’t going to allow Wilson to have his own personal coaches in the Broncos’ building.

Exercising a wide range of control was one of the hallmarks of Payton’s previous coaching tenure in NOLA, and he’ll likely rule with an iron fist in Denver as well.

That could be bad news for Russell Wilson, who’s seemingly content with counting his money along with all the bathrooms in his house. Then again, Payton could help equip Wilson with the one of the most important traits Wilson needs to succeed next season: Discipline.

The Wilson-Payton experiment has only begun, and things already feel a bit rocky. With two alphas like Wilson and Payton in the Broncos’ locker room, Denver’s fragile future will depend on the two becoming best buddies rather than mortal enemies.