Pressure grows on Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton after Bo Nix's shock outburst over ankle injury
The Denver Broncos appear to be teetering on the brink of turmoil less than a week on from their heartbreaking AFC Championship defeat.
Despite the fact the franchise enjoyed their best regular season since 1988 and were hampered by injuries for their playoff loss to the Patriots, cracks are starting to form.
Head coach Sean Payton has fired three assistants, including offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, amid reports of a deepening rift with rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
On Wednesday, Nix took the unprecedented step of calling his own press conference to 'correct misinformation' provided by Payton regarding a season-ending injury.
The sheer chaos that has unfolded in such a short space of time since their playoff defeat has set alarm bells ringing among fans and analysts alike.
Reflecting on the chaotic 96 hours, analyst Nick Wright noted: 'Nobody wants to hear this from me, but this is a weird 96 hours from a team that had, by any objective measure, a wildly successful season that ended when it did.
Pressure is growing on Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton amid their recent turmoil
The Broncos were dumped out of the playoffs after a 10-7 defeat to the New England Patriots
'If you handle the PR right, nobody is mad at anybody! They got unlucky. 'Our QB broke his ankle on the second last play of the divisional round game and we were right there and if not for a snow storm and a tip field goal, we might have stolen it'.
'Instead, Sean Payton fired three coaches, including his offensive coordinator, who attributes his firing to - and I quote - 'Sean was in one of his moods.'
'That was strange. And then Bo Nix calls his own press conference - the team didn't set this up. Bo Nix calls his own press conference to correct what he considers misinformation, not from the dark web or AI bots, but from his own head coach.
'So it's not nothing that all of a sudden the quarterback is upset with the head coach, and something weird'.
Nix broke his ankle in final minutes of their playoff win over Buffalo Bills on January 17, ruling him out of the rest of the postseason with an issue that required surgery.
In the aftermath, Payton said that Nix's history of ankle issues meant an injury of this calibre was actually destined to happen sooner or later, saying it was not 'a matter of if, it was a matter of when'.
But Payton's comments irked Nix, who moved to defiantly set the record straight.
'I don't think he really should share how many surgeries I've had in the past, to be honest with you, he doesn't even really know that,' the quarterback said, as per ESPN.
He explained of his surgery, carried out in Birmingham, Alabama: 'Nothing predisposed, nothing that was there originally.
Bo Nix was not happy about his head coach Sean Payton's comments about his ankle injury
Joe Lombardi has spoken out after he was brutally axed by the Denver Broncos this week
'That might have gotten confused. (The injury was) just a simple step with my foot up in the air, my body weight came down on it, sort of got twisted up.
'It could have been a worse landing, but I think all that force went into the only place it could.'
The remarkable comments underline how the pair, who enjoyed such great success together this season, are not on the same page at present.
Meanwhile, in wake of their divisional round defeat to the New England Patriots, the Broncos opted to make a high-profile firing of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.
In addition to him, the Broncos also parted ways with wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch.
A statement from Payton read: 'I want to thank these coaches for playing an important role in elevating our program over the last three seasons.
'I've been fortunate to work with Joe Lombardi for 15 years and am particularly grateful for his many contributions to our success as offensive coordinator.
'We sincerely appreciate Joe, Keary and Addison's hard work and wish them all the best in the future'.
