The Sean Payton-Russell Wilson relationship has been about as rocky as the Rocky Mountains for the Denver Broncos this season. And Saturday night was another example of that.
Denver’s offense has been far from electric this season, but Payton took exception with one particular failed touchdown attempt late in the third quarter of their loss to the Detroit Lions. After Wilson walked off the field, Payton sought out his quarterback and berated the former Super Bowl champion like he was a high school football player who missed practice.
Monday morning on FS1’s Undisputed, Michael Irvin berated Payton for berating Wilson, questioning whether the head coach is fit for today’s NFL.
Michael Irvin wants Sean Payton to publicly apologize to Russell Wilson pic.twitter.com/VrdRqxgaaT
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 18, 2023
“When Bill Parcells did it, it came on the news at 11pm and it was gone!” Irvin told Skip Bayless, Keyshawn Johnson and Richard Sherman. “You didn’t have to deal with it every day. This is the social media era! Russell Wilson, his family, his wife gonna see this every day on social media. Why would you stir that up like this?
“This is what we mean when we ask coaches, ‘Are you ready to coach in this era?’ Cause players ain’t gonna have that. And they’re not gonna have that lasting forever on social media, being berated like that.”
“I’ve never seen you do it – I don’t care how upset you got – I’ve never seen you do that to Drew Brees! In all the years working with him, I’ve never seen you do that to Drew Brees. And you shouldn’t do it here.”
While Brees never endured this wrath of Payton on the sideline, Wilson already has. Earlier this season during a Denver loss to the New York Jets, Payton similarly got in Wilson’s face. But even that wasn’t to the extent of their most recent incident.
Payton and Wilson didn’t offer many details about their latest exchange after the game. But if the head coach is going to apologize, Irvin insists it has to be done publicly.
“Grabbing me in silent trying to apologize wont work,” Irvin said of Payton. “You gotta do it like you did it here.”
Payton apologized publicly earlier this year after his harsh assessment of former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett went viral. But Saturday’s treatment of Wilson seemed like just another example of Payton attempting to pass the blame on Denver’s dwindling playoff chances.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com