Broncos' Sean Payton has 'two middle fingers' for critics

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Sean Payton’s return to coaching was not exactly ceremonious.

Payton was thrust into the spotlight almost immediately as he shut down Russell Wilson’s office at the facility and then criticized the regime before him. Things got even hotter for Payton when the team dropped five out of its first six games of the season.

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Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton speaks to the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on Feb. 27, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos managed to snap their losing streak against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8, but controversy over whether Wilson would remain the starting quarterback and rumors around Jerry Jeudy’s status on the team began to rear their heads. The team finished 8-9.

Going into Payton's second year with Denver, the Broncos cut Wilson and traded Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns. The team also selected Bo Nix with the No. 12 pick of the draft, a move which shocked the NFL world.

Additionally, for all of his critics, Payton has something for them.

"I think that I have two middle fingers," he told reporters on Tuesday, via Pro Football Talk. "I’ve gotten better with age not using them. I think it’s more — and I would say this changed for me — it’s more inward focused relative to our own team and what we’re doing. As you get older in this, you don’t waste the calories on certain things that I might’ve back in 2006, ’07, ’08.

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Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks to the media during a pre-draft