ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Christmas sneaks up on everyone who works within the NFL circle, especially coaches.
Most years, Broncos head coach Sean Payton gets robbed of fully enjoying not only the Christmas holiday, but also his birthday which is a few days later on Dec. 29.
“You don’t have to remind me,’’ Payton said in an interview with 9NEWS this week for the Broncos Huddle. Welcome to the 60 club, coach.
Payton and the Broncos finally get a chance to enjoy Christmas Eve at home this year.
In the previous 12 years, the NFL had the Broncos play six games on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or the day after Christmas (where the visiting team spends the night in a road hotel on Christmas Day). The Broncos were on the road for all of them. And they lost them all, usually by a lopsided margin:
2011: Christmas Eve, at Buffalo, L, 40-14
2016: Christmas, at Kansas City, L, 33-10
2017: Christmas Eve, at Washington, L, 27-11
2018: Christmas Eve, at Oakland, L, 27-14
2021: Day after Christmas, at Las Vegas, L, 17-13
2022: Christmas, at Los Angeles Rams, L, 51-14
Finally, the NFL stopped playing Bah Humbug to the Broncos this year. For their Christmas Eve game Sunday against the New England Patriots, the Broncos will play at home. Couldn’t coordinate the NFL and holiday calendar much better, far as Payton is concerned.
“It’s difficult with the season. When you have young kids you’re used to saying, ‘Hey, it’s this day or it’s this day based on your schedule. This is unique – and I think if you had to pick you would say Christmas Monday. The players' day off and coaches can get out of here. But it’s more difficult when it’s on those other days.”
Here we are going on to game 15 of the season, 18 counting the preseason, and we’ve finally figured out why Payton came back to coaching after taking last year away. He is a competitive son of a gun. This was made clear during his sideline rant directed at quarterback Russell Wilson last Saturday in Detroit. Bronco fans who will be watching with their chips and queso Christmas Eve night may not understand how extremely competitive an NFL head coaching job is. But there is no doubting Payton has the trait.
“The first thing is that old saying the players deserve a chance to win each week,’’ Payton said. “That’s our job to give them those opportunities. There’s a lot that goes into the week preparation. A lot that goes into the game planning. Tonight (Wednesday) we’ll be here late.
“And there’s nothing like winning. That feeling on game day of success is something else. And just as heavy is the feeling of defeat. One of the great motivating factors is fear of failure. That weighs on you and you don’t want that to happen.”
Payton and his coaching counterpart Sunday, Bill Belichick are both direct descendants of Bill Parcells' coaching tree. Payton on offense, Belichick on defense. One learns about how a guy coaches by how his team plays. Has Payton seen in Belichick’s Patriots teams over the past two decades similarities to what Payton aspires to with his own?
“Well that would be a huge (compliment),’’ Payton said. “I mean Bill is going to go down, I’m talking about Belichick, he’s probably the greatest coach of our time in the NFL. And deservedly so. He spent a lot more time with Parcells. They were together in the beginning and then he went to Cleveland and then there was a second reunion. Those guys shared a ton of wins and a ton of success together.
“I do know that when I got hired in ’06 to become a head coach it was clear that New England was the team that everyone had to chase. It was up to us to figure out – you know if we were selling pizza and there was a line outside one pizza restaurant, what are they doing? And that’s how it was with New England.
“I was lucky enough to get to know him some. It wasn’t really any conflicts, we were in the NFC he was in the AFC. We had four or five joint practices together. He was always patient and helpful and so we’ve had a good relationship and when our teams practiced (together) there was never any B.S. It was all business. He’s just someone I respect a lot and think a lot of.”
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