Russell Wilson, like anyone else, had a preconceived notion of who Sean Payton was before ever being coached by him.
“I always knew he was a winner,” the Broncos quarterback said while on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Winners have habits. Winning is a habit.”
Ever since Payton took over as the new Denver coach, Wilson has gotten some firsthand knowledge on how Payton conducts himself behind the scenes.
“He’s the same guy every day in the sense that he wants to be the best in the world,” Wilson said of Payton. “I think the best thing is how he leads the whole organization. I mean, the detail from inside the building to the locker room to everything else.”
Russell Wilson working with Sean Payton.....
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) August 15, 2023
"I always knew he was a winner"
🔗https://t.co/LDoukIk5gp#NFLTrainingCamp I #BroncosCountry I @Broncos pic.twitter.com/bpJMrSmAIJ
Payton came out of retirement to join the Broncos after a more than disappointing 2022 campaign that saw Denver finish 5–12 in Wilson’s first year with the team. As a result, first-year coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired and Payton was brought in to right the ship.
Things have gotten off to a rocky start, with the Broncos losing their first preseason game 18–17 to the Cardinals on Friday. Wilson went 7-for-13 through the air and completed a touchdown pass before he was pulled for the day, but there’s a lot of football yet to be played.
Payton will make his regular-season coaching debut for the Broncos on Sept. 10 against the Raiders.