It didn’t take long for Sean Payton to walk back some comments that he said he would have made as an NFL on Fox analyst (his role last season). It also didn’t take long for Payton to get into an awkward, yet testy exchange with a reporter.
While the media gave Payton a pass for his comments and his remarkably harsh language towards his predecessor, Nathaniel Hackett, it’s unlikely he’ll receive the same pass for Sunday’s exchange with a reporter.
Now, it’s understandable that Payton would be frustrated following Sunday’s game. This is the same Payton, who in an exclusive interview with USA Today Sports’ Jarrett Bell, described last season (where the Broncos went 5-12 overall and fired Hackett after he put up a 4-11 record) as an “embarrassment,” and said the Broncos spent “so much (expletive) time trying to win the offseason.”
And now his Broncos stand at 0-3 after taking a 70-20 drubbing on the road. So, Payton didn’t exactly want to talk about being on the other side of a historic day.
“I know that you said it’s embarrassing, but this is kind of a historic game.”
“I’m aware.”
As the reporter began to provide a statistic to show just how historic Sunday’s loss was, Payton snapped.
“What’s the question? What’s the question? I just finished telling you. Next question,” Payton said.
Awkward exchange between Sean Payton and a reporter, who asked how the #Broncos coach feels about the historically bad loss.
“What’s the question? What’s the question? I just finished telling you. Next question,” Payton said. pic.twitter.com/EwE55LvvLh
— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) September 24, 2023
Payton seemingly provided an answer beforehand in which he described the loss as “embarrassing,” but didn’t feel the need to address the history behind losing by 50 points on the road. And he showed that with his quick witted answer in his testy exchange with the reporter
You would think Payton would have a bit more patience after spending a season in the media. Nobody is going to sympathize with Payton for having to field these questions after a loss. This is the job he signed up for and for better or worse, he’s expected to give a professional answer.
Payton isn’t the first coach to be embarrassed on the road and he certainly won’t be the last. He simply could have again, described the loss as “embarrassing,” and moved on, but unfortunately for him, he showed that he was a bit thin-skinned with his response.
Perhaps Payton will be wearing his Fox cap sooner rather than later if these continue. More so the losses piling up than the testy postgame press conferences, but they seem to be interconnected as the Broncos have struggled mightily in the first three games of Payton’s tenure.
