Sean Payton’s Old Tua Tagovailoa Comments Came Back to Haunt Him

It’s safe to say that Sean Payton is eating some humble pie on Monday morning.

After talking up his Denver Broncos in the preseason, the coach found himself on the receiving end of an absolute drubbing Sunday. The AFC West club gave up an eye-watering 70 points against the Dolphins, and it could have been more if Miami hadn’t taken its foot off the gas.

Understandably, the result reflected poorly on Payton. But, after the game, his old quotes about Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa started making their way around social media. As you might expect, things only got uglier from there.

Payton Once Suggested Tua Would Be Benched

While he’s back on the sidelines, Payton spent 2022 off them. During that time, he stepped into the media and shared his NFL insights with the nation.

One of his takes, however, looks especially foolish after Sunday.

During an interview with Colin Cowherd after Week 1 of the 2022 season, Payton suggested that Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t going to hold on to the starting job in Miami.

“I think at some point, we’ll see two [quarterbacks] in Miami,” the former Super Bowl-winning Saints coach said. “I think at some point, and they played well yesterday with Tua, but Teddy Bridgewater, I’ve had before, he’s an outstanding player. And, I think, that’s one of the unique things this year. I’ve counted eight teams where I believe we’re gonna see multiple quarterbacks play. Not relative to injury, but just a controversy if you will.”

As Payton said, Tagovailoa didn’t play poorly before those comments. The QB went 23-of-33 with 270 passing yards and one touchdown as the Dolphins beat the Patriots 20-7. That suggests that the coach-turned-analyst wasn’t being reactionary; he had some legitimate belief that Bridgewater deserved to play over Tua.

A little more than a year later, he saw how wrong he was. On Sunday, Tagovailoa threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns. In an ironic twist, he was removed from the game only because the score was so one-sided.

On Instagram, The Athletic shared Payton’s old quotes along with some stats about Miami’s dominant afternoon. The comments, as you might expect, weren’t very kind.

“Hard coaching without Drew Brees carrying you isn’t it??” user lyfeisgood2545 wrote.

Others focused on the irony of Payton’s perspective.

“Apparently, Tua and the Dolphins heard Sean,” roadrunner_62 added.

User fishburghpurdy agreed, sarcastically adding, “Great talent evaluation.”

Payton Has More Egg on His Face From This Year

If you want to give the Broncos coach the benefit of the doubt, you could suggest that a great deal changes in a calendar year. At the same time, though, his comments from mere months ago have also aged poorly.

During training camp, Payton criticized his predecessor in Denver, Nathaniel Hackett.

“But everybody’s got a little stink on their hands,” Payton told USA Today. “It’s not just Russell. It was a [poor] offensive line. It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That’s how bad it was.”

Payton later walked back his comments.

Through three games of the 2023 season, the Broncos are 0-3. Two of those losses have come at home, and surrendering 70 points is the sort of result that could crush a team’s confidence. Even if the club turns things around and plays respectable football, there’s little to suggest they’re going to live up to Payton’s preseason expectations.

In the same USA Today interview in which he ripped Hackett, Payton said he would “be pissed off if this is not a playoff team.”

Anyone can make mistakes, especially when talking about something as unpredictable as NFL football. Right now, though, Payton is eating multiple servings of crow.