Twenty-four years ago, Sean Payton found himself in a spot eerily similar to Davis Webb’s.
In late October 2002, New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel stripped Payton, then a 38-year-old offensive coordinator, of his play-calling duties. Payton didn’t like it, telling reporters at the time .
Fast-forward to August 2026, when Payton said Webb wouldn’t be treated the way he was as a young signal-caller in New York. The Broncos wouldn’t “have any of that,” Payton told .
“Itap not one of those where if it doesn’t by Week 5, whatap this going to look like?” Payton said to Sports Illustrated. “It is going to work. Itap not going to have that wait-and-see.”
That promise did not last long. Just a few months after Payton’s comments, the coach is playing the role of Fassel, removing Webb from his play-calling duties ahead of the Broncos’ Week 5 contest against the Los Angeles Chargers.
What changed between August and now?
“I don’t think when you announce your starting lineup, you don’t say ‘For now this is our starting lineup.’ Just felt like we needed a change right now,” Payton said in response.
“It just wasn’t working enough for you at this point?” he was asked.
“You said it.”
The decision to take over play-calling duties reverberated throughout the Broncos’ locker room. Players said not much has changed in the building since Payton announced the decision to Webb and the team on Monday. Maybe Payton has been more vocal at practice, but one player said the structure has remained relatively similar. Webb is still running the team’s offensive meetings, wide receiver Troy Franklin told The Denver Post.
Even before the switch, Payton was still heavily involved during games. He was active in the lead-up to games and on the headset on Sundays, a source told The Post. The team’s offense has looked much like previous iterations of Payton’s offense in Denver.
“It’s the same offense,” tight end Dallen Bentley told The Post.
The scheme might be the same as last year, but the production isn’t. Denver has regressed in almost every major statistical category through four weeks, including points scored, passing yards, rushing yards, total yards, first downs, and time of possession. The Broncos have not recorded a first down on their opening drive of a game this season. Under Payton’s play-calling, Denver averaged 5.05 yards per play and scored on 43% of its first drives from 2023 to 2025.
Not all of that should fall at Webb’s feet, though. For one, the Broncos have faced some of the NFL’s best to start the season: the Chiefs, Jaguars, Rams, and 49ers. Last season, Denver’s first four opponents went a combined 28-40 .
Players also acknowledged they have not executed well enough. After the team’s blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, quarterback Bo Nix said the offense had let Webb down. That feeling was amplified after Thursday’s news. Payton said everyone was disappointed, because it felt like players had let one of their teammates down.
“We’re just not executing, not scoring points, too many penalties. Just problems that we’re kind of in control of,” tight end Evan Engram said. “Thatap the main message is we just have to play better no matter who’s calling plays.”
“You still have to go out there and execute. Thatap the biggest thing thatap hurting us right now is execution and penalties,” wideout Marvin Mims Jr. said. “So no matter who’s calling the plays, whether itap Sean or Coach Webb, we just have to go out there and do our jobs individually.”
Nix is extremely close with Webb and will likely feel the biggest impact of the change. Payton relayed calls to Nix in the huddle last year and said Thursday he’d get plays in quickly to Nix. It’s unclear if Webb will still communicate with Nix on game days.
Franklin said the decision was “a little bigger than me.” The wideout said he didn’t know why the change was made.
For Webb, the move is a reminder of how quickly things can change in the NFL.
“It’s just a hard business. Sometimes you feel like people should be given more time to prove themselves,” Bentley said.
At the NFL Combine in February, Payton said the decision to hand play-calling duties to Webb was made to “benefit our team.” The coach said he began considering the move midway through the 2025 season, and Webb’s promotion to offensive coordinator this offseason was the right move.
Payton affirmed his belief in Webb on Thursday, calling him a future head coach. But Payton holds that position in Denver, and as he said Thursday, he does not have to “run (calls) by anyone.”
That’s the reality now on and off the field.
