The Denver Broncos took a step forward under Sean Payton in 2023. The team’s offense averaged 4.1 more points per game than in 2022, the special teams units improved across the board, and the defense turned things around after a poor start to the campaign.
The Broncos ended their first season under Payton with their best win total (eight victories) in a single season since 2016. During his end-of-season press conference last week, Payton was asked how he would evaluate his performance following Year 1 in Denver.
“I said this the other day, and I just know how my peers and how I looked at it — everyone would look at it as 8-9,” Payton said. “That’s just how we’re wired. Specifically, there would be a number of things that, ‘Ah, I know better.’ There’s a notepad right now. I think, for me, fresh off the season — what are things as we get ready, so that this time next year, I’m not trying to remember. There’s kind of a notepad I keep of things that we’ll address or change or do differently heading into the season.
“As head coaches, we’re graded on our team’s success, as we should be. That means sometimes we’re over-graded, and then sometimes, we’re under-graded. Ultimately, it’s about winning. That’s always been pretty clear and clean and actually refreshing. The fact that we’re having this [presser] on Tuesday in whatever week in January is not the right week. Certainly, it’s not the right week for us and for when we’d like to be having this meeting.”
While the Broncos did show improvement under Payton, the club ultimately did not post a winning record and failed to qualify for the playoffs. Those are the two biggest measuring sticks for success as a coach in the NFL, and Payton knows it. With his notepad of corrections in hand, Payton will aim to have an end-of-season presser after the playoffs next season.
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