Sean Payton On Russell Wilson Having A Personal Coach: ‘That’s Not Going To Take Place Here’

The Denver Broncos had a disastrous 2022 season, finishing 5-12 in Russell Wilson’s first season under center. The team fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett after 15 games and are banking heavily on new head coach Sean Payton finding a way to revitalize Wilson and the offense — sending the 29th pick in this year’s draft to New Orleans for Payton.

With a lack of top draft picks coming in, upgrading the roster will be more difficult than usual for Denver, and they are expecting Payton’s expertise in team-building and maximizing offensive talent to lead a turnaround. The task for Payton is immense, and one of the biggest early difficulties will be establishing a brand new culture in Denver after what seems like a year where that was severely lacking. We have heard a number of stories about Wilson not exactly being a beloved part of the team in Denver or Seattle over the past year, and Payton seems to understand part of getting the Broncos back on track and getting buy-in from the entire team is to make Wilson simply a member of the team.

On Monday, Payton spoke with reporters and was asked about Wilson having a personal coach with full access to the Broncos facility, and he seemed taken aback by that, noting “that’s not going to take place here” anymore.

Payton’s face when the reporter notes this was a thing is incredible, as he seems incredulous that someone would allow personal coaches that were separate from the team personnel in the building. It’s one thing to have a trainer (Tom Brady’s trainer being the highest profile version we’ve seen in recent years), but a personal coach is truly wild. Payton’s not having that, and comes in with a pedigree and a resume that should allow him to command Wilson’s respect in a way that clearly didn’t exist with Hackett. Whether that can get everyone on the same page or not is to be determined, but it’s going to be fascinating to watch what happens in Denver, if nothing else.