The Steelers in 2024 will live out Sean Payton’s nightmare.
This is the spotlight that Sean Payton attempted to evade.
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton created a lot of noise during the 2023 offseason by criticizing the 2022 coaching staff and the practices of the previous administration. During the 2022 season, Payton worked in the media and witnessed how the Broncos, as a team, become disgraced from the outside looking in.
He recently said that he started “peeing on trees” after taking over as the team’s head coach. Payton made it apparent in remarks to USA Today that the 2022 Broncos’ problems were partially caused by the “pomp and circumstance” surrounding Russell Wilson’s arrival at quarterback. He went on to say that he was excited about all he has heard about the Broncos’ 2022 campaign. going to do the opposite.
“Embarrassment of an NFL team or organization is not something that happens very often. And this is where it occurred. They spent a lot of [expletive] time trying to win the offseason, which contributed to part of the problem. They were responsible for the PR, the pomp and fanfare, the folks parading around, and other things.
That’s not what we’re going to do. This year, the Jets did it. You observe. Hard Knocks, that’s all. I see it coming.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to experience Payton’s worst fear in 2024. Or, at least, from this time last year.
In addition to the publicity that already comes with having quarterback Russell Wilson, the Steelers will also be one of the teams highlighted in HBO’s Hard Knocks in 2024. This is be the show’s first-ever in-season look at clubs, and it will feature the entire AFC North.
Not only are the Steelers going to have the added publicity that already comes with having Russell Wilson as their quarterback, but they will be one of the featured teams on HBO’s Hard Knocks in 2024, a first-ever in-season look from the show at teams which will feature the entire AFC North.
The reason why Sean Payton didn’t want this last year for the Broncos is because of the fact that the team already had enough negative publicity. There was no need to add to it with the way Wilson got dragged around by the media during his horrendous 2022 campaign, which was plagued by injuries and on-field disaster. To his credit, Payton wasn’t taking any shots at Russell Wilson with the things he said last year around this time, but at the coaching staff.
He compared the coaching staff to “parents” who allowed what transpired during that 2022 season to happen. He noted that the offense couldn’t even get a play call in on time. He said there were “20 dirty hands for what was allowed.” Part of it was certainly Wilson’s fault, but Payton was adamant last summer that Russ still had it in him, that the guy we’d all known for 10 years in Seattle didn’t vanish off the face of the earth.
However, the Broncos didn’t require a behind-the-scenes peek at everything last season, and the Steelers are now receiving one. What would happen if Pittsburgh has unrest during the season? What would happen if Justin Fields were to replace Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback?
Payton’s dread for 2023 is the reality the Steelers must deal with while the HBO team follows them around.
