Big Shift? Sean Payton Names Davis Webb as Broncos’ Play-Caller

After Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane kind of spoiled the announcement, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton stepped up to the podium at the NFL Scouting Combine and confirmed that first-year offensive coordinator Davis Webb will be taking over play-calling duties.

"Yeah, he's gonna call—I know Brandon Beane announced it earlier in the media," Payton said with a grin. "So I saw him in the hallway, and I thought, 'You can come on and do my presser too.' But, no, but I'm excited for him having that opportunity."

Payton explained the thought process behind his decision to relinquish primary play-calling duties and why it made sense for Webb to shoulder that mantle of responsibility. It was obviously difficult for Payton to announce it at the podium, let alone make the actual decision.

"First off, I think it was something that I kind of knew during the year. He and I visited on a number of occasions," Payton said of Webb. "He's extremely talented. With regards to play-calling, it's something that I think he'll be really good at it. I know that's like, 'Man, are you gonna give up play-calling?' And I would only do that if I felt like it would help our team. I'll still be involved with what we do offensively, just like what we do defensively."

Webb's Gift

Payton genuinely believes that Webb has a "gift" for scheme and for play-calling. He's giving up the play-sheet to Webb because he genuinely believes it'll help improve the Broncos.

"I do think he has a gift. I think he's real sharp. I'm glad he's on our staff," Payton said of Webb. "Typically, any decision that we make like that is to benefit our team, so listen, I'm looking forward to it. I challenged him in the offseason prior to that preseason game. He did a good job. But I think it'll help us. Certainly, I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was going to help our team win. You get to a point where you're focused strictly on improving your team any way you can."

Payton Will Be Involved

Payton will continue to have input on everything the Broncos do offensively. Payton will also still call some plays on gameday. With a rueful smile, Payton said it won't be hard to decypher which coach called a given play.

"Listen, I'll still—I'm gonna have opinions with plays. Mine will be the bad ones; his will be all the good ones," Payton said of Webb. "I want to support him in that... But I think that stepping back and looking at it, I think that he'll do a fantastic job."

Payton referenced several meetings he had with Webb during the 2025 season where the young coach wanted to talk about his role and what the future might hold. Clearly, Webb wanted to have more input and with his meticulous wealth of knowledge, perhaps even call plays.

Webb will get the opportunity to do that, but it will be within the structure of Payton's offense. It'll still be the Broncos' offense that fans have come to know over the past three seasons.

"It's still going to be our offense. But I think it's easier to do as you get older, and you look at 'how do we win more games?'" Payton said.

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Payton Has Done it Before

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael on the sidelines in the second half. — Sep 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael on the sidelines in the second half against the Oakland Raiders at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Raiders won, 35-34. | Chuck Cook, Chuck Cook / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Payton recounted a time during his 16-year stint with the New Orleans Saints when he had to give play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael — who just left the Broncos' staff for a job with the Buffalo Bills. Under Carmichael's play-calling purview, the Saints scored 63 points against the Indianapolis Colts while Payton was recovering from an injury.

"I'm like, 'Pete, you're killing me,'" Payton said. "Look, I think it's going to help our team, and I'll do everything I can to support him. And it's something that I wouldn't do if I didn't think it would help."

Webb Didn't Use it as Leverage

Webb received some head-coaching interest during the NFL hiring cycle. Some have wondered whether Webb only returned to Denver with the assurances of a promotion and the responsibility of being the play-caller.

Payton shot that down, stating that the discussions began during the season. A big part of the motivation for Webb wanting to stay in Denver was to continue being a key part of something he's helped to build, and to continue working with one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL in Bo Nix.

"Well, I think he was wanting to stay. Look, he interviewed at a few stops, and I think that that opportunity is going to come for him, to be a head coach," Payton said of Webb. "I don't know that this was, 'Well, I'm staying if I get to do this.' I don't think that was the case. I don't want to speak for him, but I think he really likes what he's begun to do here with us, and the start of working with a young quarterback—it's hard to leave that. So I don't think it was... It was something I was already moving towards before anyone had even discussed it. It was midseason."

Payton Isn't Dissatisfied With the Offense, Wants to Be 'Quicker'

People also wonder whether Payton made this decision because the Broncos' offense wasn't as prolific as he'd like it to be. The Broncos finished 10th in yards in 2025, after also finishing 10th in scoring the year prior with Nix as a rookie.

Getting the play-calls into Nix in a more timely manner was one of the mitigating factors in Payton's decision to pass the baton to Webb.

"No, it wasn't that. Because, look, we finished 10th this year and we had a good team," Payton said of his decision. "There's certainly things we want to be better at. It's also being quicker."

Payton Genuinely Believes it Improves the Broncos

Payton has been calling plays in the NFL for the better part of the past quarter-century. It can't be easy to give the reins to someone else, regardless of how talented and prepared they are.

Webb is only three years removed from playing quarterback in the NFL. But Payton truly believes that Webb taking over the play-calling duties is what's best for the Broncos moving forward.

Don't get it twisted, though: Payton will still have mega input on the game-planning, and there will be times he steps in and calls a play. However, Payton genuinely trusts Webb to take the reins.

"Look, it's only if there's someone that you feel is good enough to do that. And he'll have that opportunity," Payton said of Webb. "Like I said, having done this before, I can recall how it was. And I'm sure there's gonna be times where I say, 'This is what I want to run.' But there's trust there. There's trust with his ability, and there's trust with our relationship."