Russell Wilson and his diva ways weren't ready for a coach like Sean Payton

Sean Payton is an old-school head coach in his approach and one of the few remaining in the NFL. As part of the Bill Parcells coaching tree, Payton mirrors his mentor in many ways regarding his no-nonsense way of dealing with players. It doesn’t matter who the player is or what they think of themselves, which is apparent in how he entered the Denver Broncos organization during the offseason. Payton walked in the door, began restructuring things to his liking, and even called out star quarterback Russell Wilson, per an ESPN report.

“Will you f*cking stop kissing all the babies?”

“You’re not running for public office.”

Payton didn’t waste any time bringing his QB back down to earth. Everything Wilson had worked for and achieved in the previous 10 years with the Seattle Seahawks came crashing down. DangeRussWilson gets as much blame as Nathaniel Hackett does for how disastrous the 2022 campaign was in Denver.

Coach Payton came in and made sure he laid the law down for Wilson. It felt like Russ was leaning in a little extra to the whole “superstar” QB persona alongside his wife Ciara. It’s like football hasn’t been as important as upholding his high-profile marriage in the eyes of the public. Payton couldn’t care any less about what goes on in that world. Some think Payton came in a little hot, but judging from how Wilson cooled off last season, he needs a fire lit under his keister.

Never have we seen a QB go from being considered a future Hall of Famer to one of the worst in the league in one season. Not long ago, Wilson was seen as no less than a top-10 passer in the NFL. Now he’s seen in the lower third of QBs essentially overnight. Even if you disagree with Payton’s approach, Wilson needed someone to kick him in the butt figuratively to get his career back on track.