Sean Payton Reveals the Moment Bo Nix Decided to Ask a Bold Question

A question many Broncos fans have likely had on their mind of late.

DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 21: Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Bo Nix (10) have a word before a game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on December 21, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. | Dustin Bradford / Icon Sportswire / Imago

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton just turned 62 years old. It's fair to wonder how much longer he plans to coach in the NFL.

Bo Nix has wondered the same, and it's hard to blame him, considering how much success the Broncos' quarterback has had through his first two NFL seasons under Payton's wing. Nix became the first NFL quarterback ever to win 20-plus games while passing for 7,500-plus yards and 50-plus touchdowns in his first two seasons.

And if the Broncos beat the Chargers on Sunday, securing the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC, Nix will tie Russell Wilson for the most victories through a quarterback's first two years (24). Ever. Suffice it to say, Nix's curiosity over Payton's shelf life is well-founded.

Payton may have given us a little hint about how long he plans to coach. On Wednesday, he fielded questions at the podium, talking about the new things he continues to learn about Nix, and the things Nix wonders about Payton.

"I can’t recall when, at some point, he said, ‘How many years you have left in you?’ I just said, ‘Shoot, Bo. I feel great. Six, seven, eight? I don’t know,'" Payton said on Wednesday. "Then we have a little moment in Vegas, and I said, ‘Look, at this rate, two [years].’(Laughs) But it comes from such a competitive nature by both of us, I think, in a really good way.”

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Payton Isn't Going Anywhere Anytime Soon

Dec 14, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks with quarterback Bo Nix (10) during the second quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

I don't think Payton's timeline should keep Broncos fans up at night. Health willing, he'll be here for a long while yet, not only because he's got his young franchise quarterback to continue building around and winning with, but he works for the wealthiest owners in the NFL and has a great working relationship with Broncos GM George Paton.

Nix has already delivered 23 wins to the Broncos since arriving as the team's first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2024 NFL draft. Payton had a pretty good read on what Nix brought to the table as a draft prospect, but as time marches on, he continues to learn things about his young quarterback.

“Every week. Every week, there are things that… The thing that we’ve seen more, maybe because the game is a little different, is how good he is off-schedule," Payton said of Nix. "The off-schedule [plays], the things that present themselves in a game that you can’t account for. We don’t play in a perfect world, and that pocket is never always perfect."

Nix, the Playmaker

Nix has made some excellent plays off-schedule, including one heck of a red-zone throw while falling to his knees that Courtland Sutton plucked out of the air for touchdown in Week 13 vs. the Washington Commanders. It's great to have that ability. It's a feather in Payton and Nix's cap, no doubt.

Bo Nix somehow keeps the play alive to Courtland Sutton!

DENvsWAS on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/vF27JLuilQ

— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2025

But as the playoffs approach, Nix will have to win from the pocket if the Broncos are to prevail. Payton is confident in his focused young quarterback's ability to do what it takes, whatever the situation.

"Listen, he’s locked in," Payton said. "I know he’s excited, just as the rest of the team is.”

With how productive Nix has been out of the gates, it's easy to forget just how young he is. At 25 years old, he's just scratching the surface of what he's capable of, and in the hands of a competent and experienced coach like Payton, there's no telling to what heights Nix could climb as the years march on.

“He’s an extremely young, productive, successful quarterback who’s getting better and leading," Payton said of Nix. "He’s all those things.”

We know Nix still has everything out in front of him career-wise. To maximize that ceiling, the Broncos will need Payton to stick around as long as he's capable and the competitive fires are still burning.

Pete Carroll is 74 years old. Bill Belichick is 73. Heck, even Andy reid is 67. Five years ago, when Reid was Payton's age, he was coming off his first-ever World Championship with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Since then, Reid has won two more Super Bowls, hinting at what's possible for Payton and the Broncos, now that they've found their franchise quarterback of the now and the future.