John Elway may be retired from the Denver Broncos’ front office, but he is still watching closely — including what Bo Nix and Sean Payton are building together. On the After the Horn podcast, Elway backed the young quarterback and praised Payton’s approach to developing him in Denver.
Elway said he likes what he’s seen from Nix, even if the start of his career felt a little fast and chaotic at times. The Hall of Famer noted that early on it looked like everything around Nix was “moving really, really fast,” but recently the rookie has started to settle in and look more comfortable running the offense.
“He’s got all the tools,” Elway said, adding that experience is on Nix’s side after starting more than 60 games in college. Elway pointed out that most top prospects leave school much earlier than that, and that the long college resume should help Nix adjust to the NFL.
Why John Elway Thinks Sean Payton Is Right for Bo Nix
If Elway sounds optimistic about Nix, he sounds just as confident in Sean Payton. The former Broncos general manager repeatedly emphasized that a young quarterback needs the right offensive-minded head coach, and he put Payton in that category.
Elway called Payton a great “psychologist” as well as a play-caller, praising the way he manages quarterbacks and the overall locker room. He referenced how Denver’s offense slowly progressed last season under Payton, with the coach giving his quarterback “a little bit more” over time as the unit found its identity.
Now, with Nix in place, Elway believes the pairing makes sense. He said Payton knows how to win games, and the Broncos are finally making the key plays in the fourth quarter instead of waiting for something to go wrong. For years, Elway noted, Denver seemed to be bracing for the backbreaking mistake late in games. Under Payton, he said, the mentality has flipped to expecting to make the play that wins it.
Elway has long argued that a franchise has to get both pieces right — the head coach and the quarterback — to seriously contend. With Payton’s resume and Nix’s tools, he clearly thinks Denver at least has a real chance to check both boxes.
What Elway’s Comments Mean for the Broncos’ Future
Elway admitted he hasn’t spent a lot of in-person time with Nix yet, but the evaluation from afar mattered. He watched at least one recent game on his phone while playing in a golf tournament, and came away encouraged by how much calmer the rookie looked in the pocket compared to the start of the year.
To Elway, the next step for Nix is mental: continuing to slow the game down, ignore outside noise and simply stack wins. He mentioned that people will always nitpick how a team is winning, but his message for a young quarterback on a hot streak was simple: tune it out and keep finding ways to finish games.
Coming from a quarterback who rode his own early-career ups and downs into two Lombardi Trophies, that endorsement carries weight in Denver. Elway sees a talented, experienced young passer and a proven offensive head coach. If both keep trending the way he described, he clearly believes the Broncos’ long search for stability under center might finally be over.
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