Sean Payton is known for his fiery game-day persona. It turns out rookie quarterback Bo Nix has the same firebrand within himself.
Deep in the third quarter of Sunday's 34-18 Broncos win over the Raiders, Payton and Nix were seen by FOX cameras having a heated exchange after a potential touchdown pass to Troy Franklin fell incomplete on a third down. Apparently, Nix flipped the play, which the coach didn't appreciate.
Asked about the exchange, both brushed it aside, but not without Payton comparing his young quarterback to Ferris Bueller.
"It is part of the deal. There is still a little bit of Ferris Bueller in this player that we have to get rid of," the coach laughed. "I'm talking about Bo. I love him to death, and sometimes it is my love language."
For the uninitiated, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 John Hughes comedy flick starring Matthew Broderick as a rebellious, irreverent, sarcastic teen in suburban Chicago who skips class for one last escapade before high school graduation.
"It is just funny. Ferris is kind of quirky and doing his own thing once in a while," Payton said when asked to explain the comparison. "Did you watch the movie? Have you ever seen it? He still has some Ferris Bueller in him. He's got some. Not mischievous, maybe a little bit kind of subtly. There are times where you send something in, and I do not want it flipped. It gets flipped, but it is all good. He works his tail off. I am that way. It just is what it is."
Asked about the heated sideline conversation, Nix initially quipped: "He turned and looked at me and said, 'I love you,' and I turned to him and said, 'I love you back.' "
Nix said a simple miscommunication led to the exchange.
"It was a single play. We had it flipped," Nix said. "He wanted it to the boundary, and we just kind of got confused there in the huddle. So I tried to get things right. We ended up having it, had a chance and I overthrew it, but that's a part of the game sometimes. With the huddle operation sometimes you just have to make the most of guys, how it is with the play clock moving. You just make the most of it, and fortunately it didn't bite us."
At the time, the Broncos were up 20-10. Nix would add a fourth-quarter TD plunge and another touchdown pass to blow the game completely open.
The 24-year-old Nix was born in 2000 but said he's seen Ferris Buller enough to understand the reference.
"Yes, I've watched the movie. I think it's funny. That literally I think explains the situation," he said. "We're just out there with great competitive intensity and fire. We can have those conversations and move right back along and score another few touchdowns. It doesn't bother us…
"That movie is funny. I think it's a great movie. I've only seen it a handful of times because it's kind of old, but I think it's good."
The Broncos have won three straight starts since beginning the season 0-2. Nix became the first rookie in Denver franchise history to win three starts.
