Denver Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton gave his play-calling duties to their offensive coordinator Davis Webb earlier in February. As a first-time play caller, Webb led the Broncos to two wins and two losses in the 2026 season. And that has garnered calls for Payton to take his duties back from Webb.
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On October 5, 2026, Kay Adams and Champ Bailey discussed Payton’s play-calling role on the Up & Adams Show. Adams noted that the Broncos have been a bit inconsistent in their performance and highlighted that Payton claimed that it was “too early” for him to take his role back from Webb. And Bailey affirmed that he shouldn’t rush.
“I think you do what’s best for the team and he understands more about this team than any of us would ever understand,” the former Broncos cornerback said. “So, I will follow his lead on that if he decides to go that route. But I will say, you hate to pull the rug from under your guy this early. I gotta keep emphasizing how early it is.
We haven’t even got through a quarter of the season. It feels like it, but it’s not a 16-game schedule anymore, right? We are almost at the point where you can start worrying. But what’s the Broncos’ record right now? They’re still in it.”
Adams invoked Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen as benchmarks for elite QB play. She believed that it’s a battle against the Kansas City Chiefs as they secure a 4-0 record. She further claimed that the Broncos can’t beat the Chiefs if their first half is “wobbly and boring.” Adams had a similar concern for the Broncos’ Week 5 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. If they showcase a slow start, she believed that Payton should take back the reins.
But Bailey played devil’s advocate and brought out the instances from the 2025 season. He noted that even though Payton called the plays last year, the offense looked bad in a few instances. Yet, the Broncos managed to win 14 games and lost three in the previous regular season. Even Adams admitted that Denver had a slow start and wasn’t running the ball enough early in some situations.
“Same issues. So, I think when you think about it that way, you have to do it more on a case-by-case basis,” Bailey concluded. “Like maybe if things aren’t going well within that game, you take over play calling at that point.”
Of course, Adams isn’t the only one who thinks that Payton should take back control right away. Former head coach Rex Ryan claimed that giving up his play-calling duties was a “mistake from jump” on NFL Sunday Countdown.
Following the 24-14 loss against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4, Payton told the media at the postgame press conference that “it’s tough to discuss” the shift in play-calling right now. Even though it was a fair question, we’re still not at the first quarter of the season.
Nevertheless, the Broncos certainly need to focus on their offensive game. With Webb’s calls, Bo Nix averaged only 3.7 yards per carry against the Niners, suggesting the QB and coordinator have yet to develop chemistry. It means that the quarterback and the offensive coordinator have yet to synchronize.
But Sean Payton isn’t letting it slide. He acknowledged that the team will enter Week 5 and that they need to fix their offensive game.