Sean Payton using personal experience to motivate Broncos ahead of playoff game vs. Bills

Years before head coach Sean Payton guided the 2025 Denver Broncos to earning the No. 1 seed for the AFC portion of the playoffs, he spent the 2022 campaign working as an NFL analyst for Fox. 

Payton is now preparing his team for this coming Saturday's home divisional-round playoff game versus the Buffalo Bills. On Thursday, he revealed that he recently spoke with his players about his year away from coaching.

Sean Payton found retirement to be "a little overrated"

"I shared it with the players," Payton explained, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "I said, 'That year away is a big transition.' We’re all sold on what retirement’s going to be, on the lake somewhere with a fishing pole. ...It’s a little overrated that way relative to having a purpose and getting up. That year out, very little mattered. Getting ready for the Sunday when they’re going to throw you a few easy questions, and you’re going to have a narrative about the game, and then you stay, and then go home."

Payton famously served as head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 2006 up until he stepped down from that role in January 2022 (minus the 2012 campaign, when he was suspended for his role in the "Bountygate" scandal). In September 2022, he compared himself to a "retriever" who needed the "company" of other people. 

In early 2023, the Broncos acquired Payton's coaching rights from the Saints. 

Sean Payton wants Broncos embracing "not today" mentality

"But all the while, immediately you realize that racetrack is going," Payton added about what he experienced during the 2022 season. "I’ve said this. You smell the gasoline, the lights are on, and you’re like, 'Man, there’s nothing like that.' There’s going to be a time where, and I said this to the players, 'There’s going to be a time where all of us have to get off, but you know what? Not today. Not today.' There’s nothing like it. There’s nothing like it."

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Broncos as 1.5-point home favorites over the Bills. 

Meanwhile, one wonders if Payton will give Mike Tomlin any advice regarding Tomlin's long-term future after he stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Tuesday. Tomlin reportedly has no interest in returning to coaching until 2027 at the earliest, and he could accept a job working as an analyst for Fox or one of the NFL's other media partners.