Sean Keeler: Sean Payton doesn't like Broncos' Super Bowl chances. He loves them. 'He believes it more than he's saying it.'

Sean Keeler, The Denver Post on Aug 6, 2025

Published in Football

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DENVER — Like the Grinch at Christmas, Sean Payton’s heart grew three sizes Monday.

“I would tell you, knowing him as long as I’ve known him, he really believes it more than he’s saying it,” Curtis Johnson told me Monday by phone after the Broncos wrapped up a shorts/shells practice at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit.

“Because if he just kind of thought it could happen, he wouldn’t have said it like he said it.”

Payton said his Broncos had a Super Bowl look. Straight. No chaser. No apologies. No caveats.

He said it at least twice to longtime Yahoo Sports NFL writer Charles Robinson while Robinson’s tape was running. He doubled down Monday when the local scribes asked why.

“Obviously, it has to start with quarterback,” Payton said. “It has to start with defense. It has to start with offensive line.

“There (are) certain things that, if they’re not on-point, it’s hard to make a statement like that. But when you look at some of these critical factors — and look, I told (Robinson) that. And that just means you have a chance.

“And then I would say most importantly, (it’s) ownership. Because there’s 20 teams each year (that) have hopes and dreams. And they’re dysfunctional at the top.”

Sunshine Sean guards his feelings the way mama badgers guard their young. Get too close, the claws come out.

“I know he’s in love with his quarterback. And you’ve got the No. 1 defense,” Johnson continued. “If you put Sean Payton with a great defense, the sky’s the limit.”

Payton told Robinson in a story published this past Sunday that he’s coached six teams he thought could win a Super Bowl. And that these Broncos are the seventh.

Johnson, by the way, was with Payton for most of those other six clubs. Curtis “CJ” Johnson, 63, now the coach of the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks, was the Saints’ wide receivers coach from 2006-11, a stalwart piece of the Super Bowl XLIV champs.

Johnson rejoined Payton’s staff in 2017 as a senior offensive assistant until 2020, then as a senior offensive assistant/wide receivers coach for the fall of ’21. He just wrapped up his third spring in Houston.

CJ and Payton go back about five decades. Johnson’s seen this movie before. It usually ends with a parade.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Johnson said of the Broncos’ Super Bowl bona fides.

“I think it takes a little bit of luck with injuries. (But) what was most impressive for me is the QB. The QB came from out of nowhere.”

Johnson’s a deacon at his church and a beacon of truth. When the Broncos snatched Bo Nix with the 12th pick of the 2024 draft, CJ admitted, some of his staffers and scouts wondered if Payton over-reached for a second-round talent.

“Why would they draft that guy so early?” they asked Johnson.

CJ kept the faith.

“Sean knows QBs, y’all.”

Johnson knows a good thing when he sees it. In Nix, he sees a taller, faster Drew Brees. Blessed with the same eye for detail. Same drive. Same sass and vinegar.

“He’s a playmaker,” Johnson said. “He can run. He has that fire. I’ve known Sean since his San Diego State days. And Sean likes fiery guys.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because they tell you the truth,” Johnson replied.

The truth is, Nix has to take another step forward to get this team from playoff-chasing to playoff-dangerous. The Bo Show went 2-6 against postseason teams as a rookie.

But Johnson can see that corner turning, too.

“I think the team that (Sean) has,” CJ said of Payton, “is going to shock some people.”

Johnson’s Broncos ties run deep. Besides Payton and the Broncos staffers from the Saints family tree, CJ recruited Vance Joseph when VJ was coming out of Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, La. He applauded the contract extensions for defensive lineman Zach Allen and wideout Courtland Sutton.

“I like the deal they just made with (Sutton),” Johnson said. “When you’re going to win a Super Bowl, you’ve got to have one of those receivers who can make plays for you downfield and on third down.”

At Dove Valley, drama is for somebody else’s llamas. No wonder Payton’s heart, beating underneath 17 layers of laminated play sheets, doesn’t feel quite so tight.

“Sean’s a straight-shooter,” Johnson said. “And he has something.

“I’ve watched the progression of his team, man. I think they’re a very good football team. If you can get by those Kansas City Chiefs, and they are right there, you can beat anybody. And I can’t wait to watch those two games.”

Neither can we, CJ. Neither can we.

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