INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Brandon Beane may have spilled the Broncos\u2019 beans.<\/p>\n
In January, Beane and Buffalo interviewed then-Denver quarterbacks coach Davis Webb for their vacant head-coaching job, before ultimately turning to an internal promotion and more years of experience with offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Webb, though \u2014 who the Broncos promoted to offensive coordinator in early February<\/a> \u2014 left quite an impression on Beane, as Buffalo\u2019s general manager recounted at the NFL Combine on Tuesday. And Beane offered a notable stance on the play-calling question that will dominate Denver\u2019s offseason.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we talked about when this opportunity came and then when we went in a different direction was, \u2018Hey, dude, you\u2019ve only actually been coaching three years \u2014 you\u2019ve been playing, so it seems like longer,’\u201d Beane said of Webb, a 31-year-old former NFL quarterback. \u201c\u2018Just keep building on this.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to get an opportunity, I believe, to call plays now,\u201d Beane continued, \u201cwhich I think will only help his resume.\u201d<\/p>\n Just a few minutes later, Brady himself referred to Webb as a \u201cfirst-time playcaller,\u201d noting the benefit of having Payton in Denver as a resource for Webb.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Davis is an absolute stud, he\u2019s going to be great regardless,\u201d Brady told reporters at the combine. \u201cBut to have somebody that\u2019s been through it and has called games at a high level, to pick his brain and everything like that \u2014 that\u2019s going to be a huge resource for him.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a potential mini-bombshell from an AFC rival, as everyone both inside and outside Denver\u2019s building has their own opinions<\/a> but few real facts on whether head coach Sean Payton would actually pass off play-calling reins to Webb<\/a>. The optics strongly suggest Webb will have an elevated role, and perhaps even take over the play-sheet, after an offseason of head-coaching buzz and play-calling interest from other franchises<\/a>. Ultimately, though, Payton\u2019s the only real figure who knows whether or not he\u2019ll pass the baton.<\/p>\n The Broncos\u2019 head coach has never had a subsidiary play-caller in his 18 seasons as an NFL head coach, despite letting previous offensive coordinators like Pete Carmichael and Joe Lombardi assume control for preseason games. But Payton\u2019s Broncos have experienced a few points of offensive instability following a 14-3 season in 2025: a 14th-ranked finish in scoring and the firing of previous OC Lombardi and wide receivers coach Keary Colbert<\/a>.<\/p>\n Notably, too, Payton gave himself a sort of public pep talk during the Broncos\u2019 bye week heading into the playoffs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was younger, like, we\u2019d run a reverse on the 8-yard-line and then think nothing of it,\u201d Payton told reporters in mid-January. \u201cAnd as you get older, you think about all of the ramifications \u2013 and so, I have to also remove that. And it was said, as you get older, maybe you don\u2019t drive in the rain at night \u2026 I can\u2019t let that happen as a play-caller.\u201d<\/p>\n A third-round pick by the New York Giants in 2017, Webb spent three years as a backup quarterback in Buffalo. Former Bills and current Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs said Webb helped teach him \u201ca lot of the offense\u201d in Buffalo, a sentiment Beane echoed Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were many times we would acquire a player in the season and the coaches are up there game-planning, and Davis would say \u2014 it can be a running back, a receiver, tight end \u2014 and, \u2018I\u2019ll take \u2018em down to the meeting room myself, and school \u2018em up,’\u201d Beane said.<\/p>\n That was a primary reason, as Beane added, that former Giants head coach Brian Daboll brought Webb to New York, as a sort of player-coach who could help those in the locker room learn Daboll\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a natural teacher, a natural communicator,\u201d Beane said of Webb. \u201cHe\u2019s very smart.\u201d<\/p>\n Payton, still, has made no public declarations on whether Webb will call plays, and a source with knowledge of the situation told The Denver Post that there was no language in Webb\u2019s contract around play-calling at the time of his promotion. Coaches on Denver\u2019s staff, too, are still privately debating whether Payton will relinquish full offensive control. And coaches around the league like Brady, who began his NFL career under Payton in New Orleans in 2017, still hold the 62-year-old Payton in the highest regard.<\/p>\n \u201cJust seeing how one of the game\u2019s greatest minds to ever coach come up with plays, but not just that, but explain the why and be able to teach and motivate and be able to reach his football team,\u201d Brady said Tuesday, \u201cI could be on all day talking about how great of a football coach Sean Payton is.\u201d<\/p>\n