Sean Payton knows Dan Quinn well. For years, they were NFC South rivals with Payton leading the New Orleans Saints against Quinn's Atlanta Falcons. These days, Payton is entering his third season as head coach of the Denver Broncos, while Quinn enters his second year as head coach of the Washington Commanders.
The two old rivals will face each other for the first time with their new teams next season.
This week, all NFL coaches and general managers are at the league's annual owners meetings in Palm Beach, Florida. Payton held court with the media on Monday morning during the AFC coaches breakfast. Someone asked Payton about the Commanders, and he offered plenty of praise, specifically for the coaching staff.
“I saw a good team. A real good team," Payton said. "Well-coached. Obviously, a team that is going to give you tempo offensively. There was a lot of no-huddle, a lot of at the line. So being in shape, I think is important. When they’re playing on the road, that can really eliminate the home-field advantage versus some teams. I know in the Detroit game they were able to do that. I think ultimately, their firepower on offense, and then Dan has coached a long time in this league. We were both together in the NFC South for a number of years. He knows what wins, and that seems like five years from now that we play them, but recognize that we do play them this year.”
Payton and Quinn will not be the most interesting aspect of this meeting next season. It will be the matchup of the two second-year quarterbacks in the game: Jayden Daniels (Commanders) and Bo Nix (Broncos).
Daniels was the runaway winner for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, but in any other year, it would've been Nix that everyone was talking about. While Daniels was terrific all season, Nix put pressure on him late in the season. Both rookie signal-callers led their teams to the playoffs last season, and expectations will be much higher in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Broncos coach Sean Payton talks Commanders and Dan Quinn
