How Sean Payton’s self-described ‘fear of failure’ is shaping the 10-2 Broncos’ identity

Sean Payton has pulled back from the void twice in his adult life Twice the competitive arena he craves has faded away and his fire has been left with no match to burn Twice there s been no need for the daily Mountain Dew and Coca-Cola binges the chance at discovering a new offensive wrinkle that the Broncos head man s eyes glued to tape until the wee morning One more cut-up One more clip One such time came in when Payton stepped away after years coaching the New Orleans Saints and took a gig working as an analyst at FOX Sports Still he would hardly be able to wait all week to get to the studio on Sundays Still FOX staff would have to kick him out of the building those nights Payton remembered Wednesday Still he needed an outlet The other such time came in when Payton was placed on a year-long hiatus from football after his Bountygate suspension from the NFL Still he took up coaching his son s sixth-grade football squad and would scrutiny DVDs of opposing youth-league units Still he d try and figure out methods to beat the random tykes who d hit puberty at an early age the Maxx Crosbys of the world Payton hinted at his Broncos matchup against the Raiders this weekend and could ruin his offense Still he needed an outlet It s addicting Payton summated And it s like where you feel like you belong Over the years Payton has located options to ensure this competition does not consume him If his eyes glaze over during film evaluation he ll go outside He ll take a cold shower But he consistently returns I hate losing more than anything in the world Payton declared Wednesday And so I think fear of failure is a very essential motivating factor Now in his th year as a head coach Payton still leads these - Broncos with that same obsession a feeling that presumably ratchets up specific he acknowledged Wednesday because of their current position Players know this franchise s window has opened Payton knows its window has opened And in Payton s third season in Denver this locker room s identity has clearly formulated around their head coach s self-described maniacal approach to ensuring every manageable detail is calibrated to avoid defeat I sense it cornerback Pat Surtain II stated Wednesday petitioned on Payton s hatred of losing It s sort of the new motto for the building for real This bleeds into everything There is nothing too small that s not critical as Payton disclosed Wednesday to avoid losing It s why there s a massive quote from Bill Parcells hanging up in the association facility And why there s a smoke machine and a boombox in the locker room after wins It s dated back to Payton s earliest years understanding how to manage the pulse of his group when he once strolled past the linebackers corner of the locker room back in in New Orleans The linebacker group former Saint Scott Fujita recalled had a beat-up -inch TV with a VHS insert that they plugged into a column that separated them from the rest of the room They slapped a piece of white athletic tape on the top of this hunk of junk Linebackers TV Do not touch Payton took a peek one day at that television - playing never-ending reruns of the movie Talladega Nights The Ballad of Ricky Bobby from the VHS and didn t say a word Then left Come in the next week Fujita recounted the Post earlier this fall and we ve got our own big-screen TV right there on our column Nearly two decades later Payton is leading a Broncos group that is similarly addicted to the feeling of winning as veteran receiver Courtland Sutton described The -year-old wideout has been through plenty of seasons where the playoffs weren t even a possibility by the time December rolled around there is now a clear sense of urgency inside Denver s building to capitalize on this situation they ve placed themselves in Futility is an even further cliff to avoid when climbing a nine-game win-streak Payton has a quarterback too who has spoken plenty about his own fear of failure Second-year QB Bo Nix affirmed Wednesday that Payton perhaps hates losing more than he enjoys winning a trait he recognizes in himself And the head coach s competitive defiance shows through Nix sometimes too a QB who vacillates between the temperament of a surfer bro and an eye-blacked general Urged Wednesday on appreciating the Broncos current situation Nix pivoted to a pointed response to national narratives around the Broncos win streak The worst thing you can do is let other people tear down a - record Nix commented Where they re saying you don t play anybody or you re just relying on the defense or whatever negative somebody s going to put on the positive And we don t really worry about it We re just excited We know we ve come a long way Nix revealed This franchise and organization has had a few great years and went into a little lull there for a minute But then it just takes a couple guys to get it back on track and all of a sudden we re - and right where we want to be in every aspect of our season They also feel that record could be even better Nix added There s that agony of defeat again Related Articles Broncos Sean Payton hopes to see Bill Belichick back in NFL I wouldn t be surprised Broncos excited about WR Elijah Moore He s a great member and great person Broncos NFL power rankings tracker How national experts rank Denver entering Week Broncos add veteran WR Elijah Moore to practice squad sources say Why Broncos Sean Payton have faith in rookie RB RJ Harvey despite lack of run-game efficiency It s only escalated In Week Payton installed a play for Sutton during their Saturday walkthrough just a day before they hosted the New York Giants That play of unit a go-ball for Sutton that set up kicker Wil Lutz s game-winner in a - comeback accomplishment worked to perfection And when something like that proves the difference between a win or loss as Payton noted his search to avoid defeat will never stop It s one of those things that I think it trickles down into the temperament of the gang veteran receiver Courtland Sutton disclosed Understanding what the expectations are None of us like to lose Sutton continued But we understand that the head man really doesn t like to lose Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis