NFL insiders often have valuable information, which they usually use to break the news. However, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer found an unusual way to share something he learned before last year’s NFL Draft.
Glazer spoke with reporters Friday ahead of Super Bowl LIX and shared a wild tale about Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s pursuit of Oregon quarterback Bo Nix. The Broncos were one of the NFL’s biggest surprises this season, finishing 10-7, thanks largely to Nix, who was drafted No. 12 overall by Denver in the 2024 NFL Draft. Before the draft, Payton was convinced another team would draft Nix.
“Sean knew about Bo Nix the day of his Pro Day,” Glazer said (via Denver’s KOA). “Literally back then. … He kept calling me, and somebody had given him some bad information that the Rams were trying to trade up for Bo Nix. I’m like, ‘Dude, they’re not.’ He was convinced … and he was driving me crazy, he was calling me a million times, and I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m telling you you’re good, nobody in front of you has him.'”
But Glazer said Payton kept calling him.
“I literally called Sean McVay, and I said, ‘Do me a favor. … Can I let Sean Payton know that you’re not trading up? Because this dude ain’t going to sleep for like five more days and he’s driving me crazy.’
“I think Sean McVay at first (said), ‘Wait another couple of days then you can do it.'”
Payton, of course, is a living legend in New Orleans. There, he transformed the once-hapless Saints into Super Bowl champions before moving on to Denver in 2023. Glazer thinks he can have the same impact there as he did on the Saints.
“Sean is different, man,” Glazer said. “He’s a culture changer. Culture’s everything. You want to know why Washington never won with Dan Snyder? Culture. Jets don’t win, Woody Johnson, culture. …
“Sean changed that culture (in New Orleans). They were wearing bags on their heads in New Orleans, to a … Super Bowl juggernaut. He’s going to do the same thing in Denver. He’s found his quarterback, he’s a little evil genius, and he’s going to continue to put in around Bo. What I love, too, is Bo doesn’t take his crap.”
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.