Bo Nix talks Broncos’ success & reunites with former coach Dan Lanning | The Pat McAfee Show

Bo Nix talks Broncos’ success & reunites with former coach Dan Lanning | The Pat McAfee Show

Uh, ladies and gentlemen, the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, Bo Nicks. How about that? Big weekend. Big weekend. Bo, Bo. Bo, what’s going on, dude? Let me uh let me see if we can get You should get in here. Let me get you in here. What up, Bo? Yeah, we got to get close. We got to get close. No. Good, man. We just talked the other day and and then you went and beat my Chiefs, man. Well done. Well, somebody else is about to beat your Chiefs this weekend. Hey, uh hey, Bo, real quick. Can you uh talk before we let him go back to his job? obviously huge game this weekend about kind of what an Oregon team or a program is like with him as your coach. He feels like the one of the most electrifying humans we’ve ever been around obviously. Bo, he is and he doesn’t fake it when he gets on screen. This is what you get at all times and he’s one of the best coaches in America in my opinion and uh he helped me get to where I am today. I owe him a lot. Um but obviously I’d be saying the same stuff if he wasn’t on the program with us. But um I love coach Lanning. Um, we had a great two-year run together and I wish I could run it back any day. Love you, buddy. Appreciate you, man. Keep balling. Appreciate this. Uh, Bo, hey, sorry, brother. That was perfect. Actually, I’m happy you got a chance. Hold on. Let me uh Perfect timing. I needed to holler at coach real quick. Anyway, that was good. What did you want to say to him? Did Do you want to get anything from him? You need some more Oregon gear? They just brought me a box. I can ship it your way if you need it. Hey, listen. They take care of us just fine. We got all the gear we need. Trust me. I know. Yeah, it seems like that’s kind of been the story about Oregon way before the NIL era. Always had the greatest gear. This place is special. There’s a fog uh happening right now behind me that is absolutely outrageous and doing some numbers to our cameras currently. So, we appreciate you kind of dodge duck dip diving and dodging with us. Let’s talk about you. So, we had Shawn Payeyton on the show uh the night you were drafted during our draft spectacular and he couldn’t stop talking about how it was like love at first meet with you. Obviously, he loved the film, but then once he started talking to you, the person, it was like an instant connection. What was that from your side? Did you feel that as well? Because there’s obviously AJ got drafted number five overall. Obviously, you got drafted high. I got picked 222, you know, so we’re kind of in the same boat here, but whenever like there’s some teams you feel a better connection with, there’s some coaches you feel a better connection you’re like hoping for. Is that something that happened with Shawn Peyton? don’t feel obligated to say yes even though you kind of are in this moment but what are your thoughts of like from Shawn Payeyton meeting him to now? Well, I loved our our visit when he came out to Eugene. we were able to sit down and um you know really go through a hourong you know a couple hourong meeting uh talking football with him and Davis my quarterback coach now and um you know we just literally went through a uh an install and we talked a lot about football where where it originated how he got it and u we watched some video along with it watched some of my stuff how it compared and um I always knew we had a you know just similar background similar style um he likes the quick game he likes the the shots and and obviously I love throwing the football. So, um for me it was uh you know it was all about going to a place to be with a coach that in my opinion um had so much knowledge and so much experience that I could learn from and that’s exactly what I got with coach. And then I think underrated um is Davis Webb, my quarterback coach. He’s just um he’s always prepared me extremely well, especially from the get-go. you know, he p played the position and um you know, know what it’s like to walk into a game and so he prepares me on a on a very good level and we’re always uh you know, ready for the task at hand. I love to hear that about you and your coaches. Your coaches feel the same exact way about you. That’s a beautiful thing. That means you’re an absolute dog on the field and off the field. We respect and appreciate that, especially with the future of the NFL being in your hands. uh from last year to this year. Going into the season, okay, going into the season, you guys were like Super Bowl darlings by everybody and it was always because how good the defense is. This defense, this defense, this defense can win. Shawn Payeyton going to be good on offense is how everybody just kind of views Shawn Payeyton for you from last year to this year. Whole different ballgame. Understanding what NFL defenses are doing, what understanding what your offense is like. How do you describe last year versus this year? And uh you guys obviously up and to the right, brother. Congratulations on all the hard work. Well, thank you. But it it definitely one starts with a defense in this league. You got to be able to stop people. Um and it comes down to the end so many times to where we just feel comfortable with our defense that they’re going to go out there and get a stop no matter what happens. Um they rush the passer at a you know alltime um you know effective way and uh they do a great job downfield covering guys and um make open field tackles. A lot of erasers on that defense. So, we know at all times you’re going to have to stop people and if you can stop people, that’s the name of the game. Um, and offensively we’re um, you know, at times we’ve been great this year, at times we’ve struggled, but um, I think when it matters most, we we know how to go down there and just finish out the game and um, do what we need to do to close it out. And, you know, it’s not always an easy, you know, four quarters. Everybody acts like we’re great in the fourth quarter, but I just think we’re great at finishing the football game. Um, and you know, we we have timely possessions where we score points, we score touchdowns, we get a field goal, whatever it may be, we tend to go down there and do it. But at the same time, you know, we’ve done it for a couple weeks now in a row, but we still got to continue on this on this track and continue this uh um this role we’re on. But, um, it’s not going to be easy. We got a really tough schedule down the stretch here. And, um, you know, we just got to find ways to continue to close out these close football games that we’ve been in. Yeah, I think closing out games and winning games is a trait that great teams have, you know, and obviously you have five fourth quarter comebacks this season that’s tied for the most alongside the Bears. That’s some Hembo stats for you. It feels like we’re just watching Will Lutz kind of come out and win games alongside every other kicker that is in a winning position and on a winning team. I I uh I want to let you know, Bo, you’re fun to watch and we’ve seen a lot of you. Ty has a question for you. Yeah, Bo, just curious, you know, now with the way college football is, we we a lot of times guys, you know, they’ll have one prolific year and then they’re going to the NFL and getting drafted high, but with guys like you and, you know, Brock Pery comes to mind, too. Like a a big talking point is these guys are so ready to play in the league because they started so much in college. Do you feel like that was the case with you that you were kind of just ready to take that baton and run with it because you had so much experience playing in college? Obviously, the NFL is next level. You have to improve and learn, but how how ready did you feel like you were when you got into the NFL? I feel like I was as ready as I could be, but at the same time, the NFL’s I mean, it’s its own league. It’s its own thing to where you even have to get some experience in that before you feel like you’re, you know, super ready and, uh, prepared to go in each and every game. But um I think playing as much as you can in college is only going to help a collegiate athlete and it’s only going to help for the future. And so a lot of these guys that you know are are making decisions, I think there’s nothing wrong with going back and and doing it again and um you know being in college, learning from your coaches, learning from experience and seeing defenses over and over and being in different types of games and having different types of outcomes. I just don’t think that’s a bad thing. And I think um in the grand scheme of things when you look at myself, Jaden, um you know, all of us that spent a lot of time in college and we’ve been able to um it’s it’s shown and it’s, you know, it’s allowed us to grow, I think, as younger players and have some success early. What’s your dims? What’s your dims? What what dimensions? Sorry. You feel like you’re you’re a bit of a stout individual, are you? What? I’m thinking 22. First of all, I didn’t know where you were going with dims there at a minute. I was uh gonna have to ask what that meant, but I’m glad you clarified. I’m 6’2, 215. So, I feel like there’s so many of us in the league that are around 6’2, 63, 610 or uh 210 to 225, 230. I feel like we all fall in that category and I’m right there in the middle. Okay. So, they use that for traits whenever they’re scouting guys and everything like that, but I think it matters. you have to be a little bit bigger to take some of the hits. Have you transformed how you kind of came into this season versus last year after taking some of the hits from grown ass men? Has that changed anything with you and how your body is? That’s a great question. I focused this off season on um maximizing um it sounds crazy, but maximizing how athletic I think I can be and and uh not neglecting that and just being able to run as fast as I possibly can and be able to move as quick as I can. And I mean the size is always going to you know be there and I feel like you know 215 for my frame is is plenty. I can get up to, you know, 220 and it’s like, you know, I don’t feel much of a difference. But I think the strength is there. And I think at this point in your career, um, you know, with the college strength and conditioning program where you worried about strength, I think now with I mean, because everybody in the league’s athletic, if you can move away from people, if you can run, if you can try to avoid some guys and and run for a first down, I think that’s where um, defenses, you know, they can’t stand it. So, a lot of us, you you know, going into the league, if you look at a lot of the guys in the league right now, um, up and cominging, the guys that are just showing up, I think the ability to escape is what sets guys apart. You know, you’ve seen Patrick do it for forever now. Josh does it at a high level. Obviously, Josh is um, you know, different size than all of us. He’s bigger than every single one of us it feels like. But there’s still an element of moving and getting away from the blitz and the pressures and being able to extend plays that I think just gives defenses a hard time. Yeah, I think everybody has to move nowadays. The strictly pocket quarterback is of days past. I think that’s just natural evolution of athleticism amongst males potentially, especially in sport of football. You I I I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t immediately think it. You guys need to stop taking hits though. Okay. You guys need to stop taking hits, you big athletic guys. Hey, we’re so super athletic. Okay, well get your ass out of bounds or get down. Okay, because our league depends on you. All right, so you need to know that my livelihood, my happiness, okay? My daughter, I love her. My family, love my will get happiness from my family, okay? But my happiness comes from NFL football. And you okay, you super athletic now, new quarterbacks are are need to just let’s not be as alpha all the time, okay? Hey, let’s just not take hits cuz we need you. Okay, these eyes need you out there. All right, you got that? I got I got it. And trust me, there’s nobody that wants to avoid these big shots more than me. No, me. I think it’s me. I heard it now. Go ahead. Yeah, Shawn Payeyton probably as well. I’m sorry. Okay, let’s talk about the youth of your team seemingly. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, Bo, I want to obviously everybody knows Courtland Sutton. He’s been in the league for a long time. He’s been great for a long time. But your other wide receivers, Pat Ryan’s a rookie. Troy Franklin, second year. He’s only 22 years old. Marvin Mims, I believe, is only 23 years old, too. Obviously, you being young and coming in with these guys and building with this guy with these guys, is it exciting cuz you know that you’re also young and that you can continue just to keep getting better? Absolutely. It’s uh um you know, being young is a great thing, but it’s also, you know, in the league, they don’t really wait on you, so you got to you know, mature as as quick as you can. But we have a very, you know, all of those guys that you just um, you know, listed, they’re extremely mature. They’re great football players and they’re only going to get better um, in this, you know, in during the season and then in their careers. But it’s I think it’s good that we’re all learning together and uh, we know that there’s sort of a um, um, a hurry to get better. It’s like as fast as you can get better, especially in this situation we’re in, you know, going, you know, leading um, you know, our division and and playing really good football. the the urgency to even get better is there. And um you know, it’s great to have younger guys. They got all have uh you know, fresh legs. They can run all day. Um they’re eager, they’re excited, they show up to work each and every day. Um and I think they’re just uh very competitive dudes that, you know, we all just want to show up and do whatever we can to win. Um and right now we’re, you know, do we’re doing that now. There’s a lot of room to grow and, you know, we can just watch over and over things that we we can get better at. But I think that’s the the fun part of football. Yeah. You guys are number one team in the AFC. Okay. You said, “Yeah, we’re leading the division.” Blah blah blah blah blah. You’re the number one team in the AFC. Yes. Above the quotes. That’s actually had to have them pull this graphic up from my little monitor here to see where exactly we were sitting and where they were sitting cuz I wanted to talk immediately and then I was sharing this graphic. It’s like, okay, Broncos number one team in the AFC. Everybody needs to relax. Okay. Everybody needs to show them their respect as they should. Speaking of respect, your teammates are showing you a lot of respect. Go ahead, Con man. Yeah, Bo, a lot of us are prisoners of the moment and I would definitely throw myself in that category. So, I apologize apologize if you’ve ever seen any of my tweets about you. I take them all back, especially after your unbelievable performance against the Chiefs. It feels like you have kind of silenced all the doubters and Adam Trotman gave a great postgame just about people who do talk crazy about you and you know you go out and have that performance and it’s unbelievable and you beat the Chiefs and then the conversation this week is more so about the Chiefs losing and the Broncos you know going out there and getting a massive win. Um do you guys have that bunker mentality within the you know the building where hey everybody else can talk about whatever the hell they want. We’re nine and we’re the one seed at the end of the day that is indisputable. They can’t really say anything about that. Uh, how is the team when it comes to that mentality? And does this feel like one of the closest teams you’ve ever been on? Got a lot of young guys. I mean, the I think our oldest guys are year eight, year nine. So, we’re just all in similar stages of life. I think that’s what makes us close. But, um, we also know what it was like last year. We know what it was like to lose some of these close games. And so, we, uh, we have turned some of those around. we have had a better record in close football games this year. But I do think it just goes back to the you know the confidence and the belief of the team. We believe that we can win these games. We’re not um going up and and you know I feel like last year sometimes we like didn’t expect or didn’t think we were going to find a way to win at the end. And then um after a couple of those games this year that went our way, we just kind of felt like hey guys we we we got this. We can win these close games. We got really good defense that we can lean on. We got offensive playmakers that are going to make plays when time comes and then Will’s done a great job in clutch time. And so, um, when you look at our team, look at how close we are. We just know what it can be like on the other side. So, we don’t try to get too focused up in the, uh, you know, the the narrative or the perception. We that can go so many different ways. You’re you’re you were exactly right in in the uh, you know, it’s all about, you know, the moment. We get so stuck in the moment to where in in another week people will be saying something totally different. Um, so we try not to get too caught up in the chaos of of what’s going on outside. We just try to, you know, live within our building and go to work every day, find ways to get better that there’s so many, you know, on clips or out there that list of things that we have to, you know, grow and get better at. And I think that’s also what’s keeping us a little bit um urgent and hungry. We know we have these things to get better at. And so we won’t we don’t really have time to sit around and act like we’ve um, you know, made it because we really haven’t. We’re just, you know, we we’re winning close games and that’s what’s put us in this situation right now. Hell yeah. Bo, hey, I don’t know if you know this man or not, but it’s a compliment when I say this and I think a lot of people take it the same way. I don’t want you to take it any other way. You sound exactly like Kevin O’Connell when you’re speaking. And uh that’s good, not bad. Every answer you give is like of a leadership, what you’re hoping for your quarterback to be. And uh we appreciate the hell out of you. I want to give you a nice shot here of these trees and maybe take you back to your time in Eugene and maybe get a little feeling as they test the sky cam for tomorrow’s massive game against USC here at Auton. We appreciate the hell out of you, Bo. Good luck the rest of the way. Stay healthy. Thank you so much for having me today. And by the way, go Ducks. They’re going to get it done. What’s the final score? What’s the score? What’s the score? Yeah. Uh, I think Dante and the boys, they’ll put up 31 points and our defense will hold them to 17. It’ll be 317 ball game. It’s pretty good. You’re the man, ladies and gentlemen. Call up 17. They will be mad though. All right. Respect. Don’t. We appreciate you both.

Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix joins The Pat McAfee Show to discuss:

0:00 Dan Lanning
1:50 Instant connection with Broncos coaches
3:40 Comparing this season to last season
6:00 Taking college experience to the NFL
8:20 Transition from last season to this season
11:00 Building with the team
12:40 AFC playoff picture
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