ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey was asked for his thoughts on how coach Sean Payton would be on game day now that he's not calling offensive plays. McGlinchey paused before giving an open-ended answer.
"I guess it's to be determined," the veteran right tackle said while starting to smile.
Other than quarterback Bo Nix's surgically repaired right ankle, there has been no Broncos topic discussed more this offseason than Payton ceding playcalling duties to new offensive coordinator Davis Webb. It's a break from nearly 20 years of precedent, as Payton has doubled as head coach and playcaller since being hired by the New Orleans Saints in 2006.
Except for the occasional change of pace and extenuating circumstances -- like when Payton suffered a fractured tibia and torn MCL in a sideline collision in 2011 -- this is marked departure from the coach's long-time routine. And until the Broncos play a regular-season game, it's hard for those around Payton to say how it will play out.
"Look, everybody knows there's 'Game-day Sean,' that intensity in games, that's no secret," said a former Payton assistant coach. "I'm sure [Webb] is going to see that because he's already seen it when Sean was calling plays -- we all have if you work for him. But Sean may not even know how it will go when it's two-minute, need-a-field-goal-to-win."
Current and former Payton assistants have joked about how many times they were "fired" during games, and multiple players have said they try to exit the field on the opposite side of the bench area from where Payton is standing if a mistake is made. Enter Webb, who many in and around the Broncos say has the intensity, attention to detail and high-effort preparation for what's to come.
"Davis is a fiery guy, he's very competitive, he loves what he does," McGlinchey said. "I fully [expect] Davis to carry himself with a lot of intensity as he always does, but he's always controlled, he never crosses the line. Because as a playcaller you have to have your wits about you and he does. I'm excited to see the energy that he brings ... he sets a great tone."
Like many in the profession, Payton is a product of his journey to be an NFL head coach. One of the biggest influences Payton has had is Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, a noted taskmaster with a sharp tongue fueled by a quick wit and decisive approach about how he wanted his team to play. Payton called plays for Parcells with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-05 and has said there were in-game moments when Parcells made disagreements about Payton's playcalls plainly evident.
Right now, Webb is fulfilling a role that former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi executed the previous three offseasons -- handling playcalling duties in practices starting with OTAs. So for Nix, having an offensive coordinator's voice in his ear at this stage isn't anything new. But once the season starts ...
"Normally at practice, I'm not giving the quarterback the play," Payton said. "On game day, though, it's different. But during practice, whoever is the coordinator is in the helmet with the play, and so you observe it. I think the bigger change is as it relates to in-season."
Nix believes the change could free Payton to dive deeper into the mechanics of quarterbacking for Denver's passers, creating additional time for teaching the position.
"I think he's able to give me the knowledge that he has without having to worry about giving me the play or looking at somebody else's alignment or worrying about a blocking scheme," Nix said earlier this offseason. "He can just straight up watch me and give me the knowledge that he has from the quarterback position that he's really coached since he got brought up. He played it, coached it and now he's able to sort of get back to his roots of being almost like a quarterback coach."
This wasn't a hasty change, with Payton saying at the combine that he considered handing off playcalling duties at midseason, an idea that gained momentum in the coach's end-of-season review following Denver's 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Payton has frequently stated that he wants plays to get to Nix in a more efficient manner, which he hopes will boost some of their middle-of-the-pack rankings from last season.
The Broncos finished 14th in the NFL in points scored and number of touchdowns last season while ranking 18th in drives that ended with touchdowns. They hope that improving in those areas will help counter any regression from their historic 11-2 record in one-score games from a year ago.
"I think we all kind of felt that as the offense kind of took a little bit to kind of get going," Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz said. "It was a very slow, like you know how a train fully gets loaded up, it takes a long time for that train to get going. But once it does, we have a lot of success there. So that's going to be our emphasis here in camp."
Broncos players say there are "tweaks" and elements of Webb's influence that will be seen in games as he works with the foundation of Payton's playbook. Some who know and worked for Payton were recently asked about how Webb might navigate things such as the two-minute drill. They simply pointed to Payton's decision to promote him. And Payton believes Webb is ready for what's to come.
"He's had great lineage," Payton said. "His college coach, his high school background with his father, those are gifts. Then there's his I.Q. It has come from a lot of great mentors and people, even in New York and Buffalo, that he worked with professionally. ... I think that's a gift. Then there's the ability and the talent."
Payton has said that there will be a collaborative effort from the offensive staff to put a game plan together each week, much like before. But how many times he will wheel into Webb's office, fire off a text in the wee hours or bark into the headset on game day remains to be seen.
