Sean Payton turns to Hall of Fame mentor to deal with Broncos QB crisis

If there is anyone who can relate to Sean Payton right now – the Denver Broncos the coach goes through a sudden crisis with quarterback Bo Nix eliminated from the AFC Championship Game with a end of season fractured bone on the right ankle – that’s Bill Parcells.

The Hall of Fame trainer, aka “The Tuna,” guided the New York Giants to a Super Bowl 25 crown with backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler replacing Phil Simms for the streak after Simms, ironically, went down with a broken right foot in Week 15 of the 1990 season.

Now, 35 years later, Payton’s team is one win away from making it to Super Bowl 60, needing backup Jarrett Stidham to, finally, transform into a modern-day Hostetler.

The fact that Parcells is Payton’s wise mentor adds another layer to the intrigue.

“I talked to him. He’s ready to go,” Parcells told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday.

Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler (15) soaks in victory on the field after Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, January 27, 1991.

Parcells knows only too well how Payton, like New Orleans Saints coach, faced the adversity of losing Drew Brees for five games in 2019 with a torn ligament in his right thumb. Enter Teddy Bridgewater. With Payton pushing the buttons, the Saints went 5-0 without the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses.

This experience for Payton won’t hurt now.

“That speaks for itself,” Parcells grumbled. “He’s been through this before. He’s been through it with Brees. So, he’s done it. He knows what he’s doing.”

It stood to reason that Payton exploited the Tuna this week, with the New England Patriots coming to Empower Field for Sunday’s showdown. Payton served as Parcells’ assistant head coach for three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, beginning in 2003, before landing his first head coaching job with the Saints. They have remained close over the years and Payton is quick to express his respect for Parcells, 84, vouching for the influence he had on his coaching philosophy and style.

And their bond is wrapped in huge success. Payton ranks 11th on the all-time list for NFL coaching wins (194, including playoffs), surpassing his mentor earlier this season. Parcells is 16th with 183 wins and is one of 14 coaches to win multiple Super Bowls.

In addition to football strategy, Tuna’s psychological methods have surely rubbed off on the Broncos coach. Parcells, for example, would set up mouse traps in locker rooms to remind players not to fall into a trap. Payton is known for using gas cans as a prop, the message being that they better not run out of gas.

Ja’Quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos and Brandin Cooks of the Buffalo Bills during overtime during the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Empower Field at Mile High.

Brandin Cooks seems to make a nice catch on this throw from Josh Allen.

Ja’quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos gets a helping hand as Brandin Cooks of the Buffalo Bills attempts to recover the pass.

Ja’quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos and Brandin Cooks of the Buffalo Bills fight for the ball as Cooks goes to the ground.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks not ruled to have caught the ball and fell through contact

Ja’quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos finishes stripping the ball from Brandin Cooks while he is on the ground.

Ja’quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos gets away from Brandin Cooks with the ball.

Ja’quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos celebrates after stripping the ball from Brandin Cooks.

There was no review of the play, forcing Bills coach Sean McDermott to call a timeout.

And God knows, like Parcells, Payton, 62, can set a grumpy tone.

There’s even an inspirational quote from Parcells displayed in the hallway of the team’s headquarters, as noted The Denver Postwhich reads: Never let good enough be good enough.

What a great resource to exploit in times of crisis. If I’m Payton, I ask my mentor to take me back to the messages he had for his Giants team — which included Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks, Joe Morris and Mark Bavaro — when Simms suffered his season-ending injury.

If I’m not Payton, I’ll ask that too.

“That’s literally what I did: I said, ‘Look, we’re not going to lose or we’re not going to have a chance to play for a championship because of Jeff Hostetler,'” Parcells said. “‘It will be one of you, the others.’

“By the way, I used a different word for ‘the other guys.’

Fast forward to the present and the gist of those tough-love, team-focused words from Parcells from a generation ago might resonate with the cast surrounding Stidham. In other words, dropped passes, missed blocks, missed coverages, and unnecessary penalties, for example, would in no way support the backup quarterback.

Then there is a key difference. Hostetler, in his fifth season as Simms’ backup, had an opportunity to make the playoffs under pressure. He started the final two games of the regular season and the Giants opened the playoffs with a rout. They won the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco against the 49ers and the Super Bowl against the Buffalo Bills by a combined total of three points.

Stidham, on the other hand, hasn’t thrown a pass in a real game since 2023. There is no accelerated acclimation. He’s immediately thrown into the fire with a Super Bowl berth on the line. A seventh-year pro, “Stiddy,” as he’s known, was one of Payton’s first free agent signings when the coach arrived in 2023. While there is undoubtedly a comfort level for Stidham in Payton’s system and vice versa, the minimal action amounts to a huge unknown.

Broncos coach Sean Payton, left, talks with quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham (8) Bo Nix during the first half of a preseason game against the Packers at Empower Field At Mile High in Denver on August 18, 2024.

“To be honest with what you’ve seen, which is very limited, he’s ready,” Payton said, aware that Stidham has shined during the preseason and probably on the practice field. “I feel like I have a (No.) 2 (quarterback) who can start for a number of teams. I know he feels the same way. So, watch out. Just watch.”

For all Payton has done to establish a culture, revamp personnel and produce winning results in his three seasons, Nix’s injury suddenly poses a challenge that could reveal just how complete this mix is. The Broncos absorbed $85 million in salary cap space for cutting Russell Wilson. They have assembled one of the best defenses in the NFL. They dethroned the Kansas City Chiefs as the nine-time defending AFC West champions. They earned the AFC’s first playoff berth and won the franchise’s first playoff game in a decade.

Now this. Nix had surgery on Tuesday.

Of course it was clutch. Including Sunday, Nix led the Broncos to an NFL-high eight wins this season after trailing in the fourth quarter. Then again, it’s never about one player and Payton is one of the winningest coaches in the NFL for a reason. There are always adjustments, always fires to put out.

This week, the agenda for Payton and his staff, including coordinator Joe Lombardi, is to come up with the best possible plan suited to Stidham. This should not be confused with reinventing the wheel.

“It’s almost business as usual,” Parcells said. “Maybe you might have something in there that you’ve seen him do well in practice, on a few particular courses that maybe he likes better than (Nix).

Parcells’ student will surely check those boxes. And then some. Payton will also bring the idea that the mission is hardly impossible.

Contact Jarrett Bell at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @JarrettBell

This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Sean Payton’s mentor Bill Parcells won the Super Bowl with a backup QB