Sean Payton responds to Liam Coen’s swipe at him

Sean Payton is offering a response to Liam Coen’s recent subtweet of him.

Coen and the Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off an upset victory on Sunday over Payton and the Denver Broncos. Jacksonville earned the 34-20 win on the road at Empower Field in Denver, Colo., improving to 11-4 on the season and extending their lead atop the AFC South.

Before Sunday’s game, the Broncos head coach Payton took a notable swipe at the Jaguars. He pointed to the fact that Jacksonville was “a smaller-market” team (while also praising the Jaguars for the job they have done this year).

That led to a savage reply from the Jaguars head coach Coen after beating the Broncos. Coen referenced Payton’s “smaller-market” comment in a postgame press conference jab of his own.

Addressing reporters Monday, Payton responded to Coen’s shade. Payton insisted that he was just complimenting the Jaguars with his initial comments and added that he did not blame Coen for using the remarks as motivation.

“It was very [a] complimentary [comment], and those guys are playing outstanding football,” Payton said, per Awful Announcing. “That topic came up strictly because, hey, not enough of the country has seen how good these guys are playing.

“The point is, though, listen, that was a good job by Liam,” added Payton. “He was looking for a rallying cry. Obviously, if you were listening to the press conference, the intention was strictly, ‘Hey, quietly, these guys are sitting here right near the top of the AFC, they’re ready to win their division.’ I spent 16 years at a small market. It was just a way for a coach to take it and use it to his advantage.”

Payton, who coached the New Orleans Saints from 2006-21 (not counting his suspension for the entire 2012 season due to the infamous Bountygate scandal), saw his Broncos snap an 11-game winning streak with the defeat to the Jaguars on Sunday. With his knack for making outspoken comments, Payton has made a number of enemies over the years (including Aaron Rodgers). Now it looks like you can add the rival head coach Coen to that list as well.