According to @APMarkLong of @AP, there’s no love lost between Sean Payton & Liam Coen.
Over the summer, Payton publicly stated that Jacksonville was interested in trading for Devaughn Vele, and it didn’t sit well with the Jags organization.#BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/VzHnT7dpte
— 92.5 FM – Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio (@AltitudeSR) December 19, 2025
After the Denver Broncos agreed to trade wide receiver Devaughn Vele to the New Orleans Saints this summer, Broncos coach Sean Payton revealed that multiple teams were interested in Vele, and he specifically name-dropped the Jacksonville Jaguars. It sounds like Jacksonville didn’t appreciate that.
“I don’t think it sat well in the organization,” Mark Long of the Associated Press said during an interview with Altitude Sports Radio. “I don’t think it sat well in the organization that Sean Payton publicly outed the Jags were looking for a receiver.”
Payton’s comment — he mentioned “Jacksonville” — seemed more like a slip-up than a deliberate attempt to specifically unveil a team, but the Jags didn’t appreciate it.
After failing to acquire Vele, Jacksonville made a deal for Tim Patrick, and they later made another trade for Jakobi Meyers. So it seemingly worked out for the Jaguars in the end, even if Payton tipped their plans.
Payton was complimentary about Jacksonville when asked about coach Liam Coen earlier this week.
“[T]hose guys have done a great job,” Payton said. “They’ve done a great job. It’s hard to flip a program like that quickly, and then you can feel the buy-in and all the things that can take place when you’re winning.”
Denver’s set to host the Jaguars on Sunday at 2:05 p.m. MT on Fox (view the TV map).
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