Michael Irvin Rips Broncos’ Sean Payton for Dressing Down Russell Wilson on Sideline

The Dallas Cowboys great demanded the Denver Broncos coach apologize to his quarterback.

Michael Irvin was not a fan of Broncos coach Sean Payton’s actions toward quarterback Russell Wilson after a penalty wiped a touchdown off the board during Denver’s Week 15 loss to the Lions. An irate Payton was seen on camera yelling at the officials and subsequently dressing down Wilson. 

During a Monday appearance on FS1’s Undisputed, Irvin made it known he was not happy with how Payton treated Wilson, even demanding that the Broncos coach publicly apologize to his signal-caller. 

Here’s what the former Cowboys wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer had to say about Payton. 

Michael Irvin wants Sean Payton to publicly apologize to Russell Wilson pic.twitter.com/VrdRqxgaaT

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 18, 2023

“This is the social media era! Russell Wilson, his family, his wife gonna see this every day on social media. Why would you stir that up like this?” Irvin said. “This is what we mean when we ask coaches, ‘Are you ready to coach in this era?’ Cause players ain’t gonna have that. And they’re not gonna have that lasting forever on social media, being berated like that. I’ve never seen you do it—I don’t care how upset you got—I’ve never seen you do that to Drew Brees.” 

Irvin points out that Payton’s humiliation of Wilson will live on forever on social media. The former Cowboys star also accused Payton of treating Wilson differently than he ever treated Brees while serving as coach of the Saints. 

Perhaps Payton, frustrated with the way his team performed in Detroit, wanted to use Wilson to make a point to his team. Either way, the story probably isn’t going away anytime soon, just as Irvin stated.