Broncos Owner Breaks Silence on the Payton-to-Webb Play-Calling Decision

At the NFL Combine, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton stunned the NFL world by announcing that offensive coordinator Davis Webb would be taking over the primary play-calling duties. We'd heard buzz for about a month, and that intensified at the Combine before Payton even took the podium, so when he dropped the news, he confirmed the rumors.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

The question on everyone's mind is whether Payton was made to do it. The only people with more power than him at Broncos HQ is the Walton-Penner ownership group, but after leading the team to the AFC championship game with a second-year quarterback, was there any incentive whatsoever for them to strong-arm Payton?

The answer is no. But rumors and speculation have persisted since the Combine that Payton may have been forced to relinquish play-calling. However, at the annual NFL owners meetings in Phoenix, Arizona, Broncos co-owner and CEO Greg Penner said that the Davis decision was all Payton.

"I think Sean always wants to do what's in the best interest of this team and the Broncos organization," Penner said on Monday via The Denver Post's Parker Gabriel. "He and I obviously talked about it; this was entirely, 100% his decision. And I think he's going to be—again, we have a lot of confidence in Davis, and I think Sean's going to be very supportive of him."

The Cost of Winning

August 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Denver Broncos offensive pass game coordinator Davis Webb before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

There's no doubt that part of the motivation for giving Davis the play-calling duties stemmed from Payton's desire to retain him on the Broncos' coaching staff. A kind of, whatever-it-takes-to-keep-him-happy approach, though there's zero evidence that Webb offered an ultimatum to Payton. None.

However, after helping the Broncos win 24 regular-season games over the preceding two years, Webb was a hot ticket in the NFL hiring cycle back in January. He interviewed for multiple head-coaching vacancies, but the Broncos retained him by promoting him to offensive coordinator and giving him the primary play-calling duties.

Penner understands that one of the costs of being a winner is the interest outside teams will take each year in the Broncos' coaching staff. It's a cost-of-doing-business type thing.

"As you get more successful, you're going to become a place and an organization that other teams want to come and hire you folks," Penner said. "So we put a priority on retaining a number of those and Davis Webb was one of them. We're excited to have him in that role and [we] have a lot of confidence in him."

All this being said, Payton is still the man at the controls. Payton will still be the guy game-planning each week and he'll still have some play-call suggestions in-game for Webb.

The Broncos are Payton's baby. And if nothing else, his unprecedented decision (for him) to give up play-calling duties to Webb is a shining testimonial of Payton's opinion of his young offensive coordinator and protégé.

Webb will continue to shepherd Bo Nix as the young signal-caller enters Year 3, though Logan Kilgore is now the Broncos' actual quarterbacks coach. With a new weapon in the arsenal in Jayden Waddle, Webb is going to be loaded for bear on this hunt as a first-time play-caller in the NFL, with Payton — not so much looking over his shoulder — but behind him nonetheless to catch him if he falls.

Nobody at Broncos HQ expects Webb to fall, though.

Sign up for our free Denver Broncos On SI newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!