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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Jon Heath

Bill Parcells’ influence helped shape Sean Payton’s view of the offensive line

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton comes from the Bill Parcells coaching tree.

Payton served as an assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach under Parcells with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-2005, and Hall of Fame coach had a big influence on Payton’s coaching philosophy.

One of Parcells’ beliefs that were passed down to Payton is that building up the offensive line is imperative for success. That became obvious when Payton’s first big moves during free agency were signing guard Ben Powers and right tackle Mike McGlinchey.

“Bill felt the offensive line was one of the most important positions on your roster because it permeated the building,” Payton said during his pre-draft press conference last week. “He didn’t say it had to be done in the draft or in free agency, but he just felt like that position group was important.”

Denver knew its offensive line needed to be improved before Payton arrived, and he and general manager George Paton were of the same mind going into free agency.

“Regardless of his philosophy and my exposure to Bill — when George and I started —and George even had mentioned this in an earlier press conference prior to free agency — that was a focus for us in upgrading and getting our team better.”

The Broncos made big improvements to the line by adding Powers and McGlinchey, but the team could still use an upgrade at center and more depth across the board. With that being the case, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Denver add additional offensive linemen during the draft this week.

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