Davis Webb went into the 2026 season as the play-caller for the Denver Broncos, but after just four weeks, it looks like he's being replaced. Sean Payton has decided to reclaim his role as the team's play-caller, according to NBC Sports. It's unclear whether Payton is taking over entirely or just splitting duties, but he's definitely going to be much more involved.
The Broncos are taking a much "more collaborative play-calling approach this week with Payton having an increased role in the process and Webb continuing with a significant game-planning and game-day role," according to ESPN. That suggests that the duties could be split. However, PFT reported that Payton will be calling the plays.
It's a much simpler process to only have one person handling the play-calling duties, so at this point, it seems like Payton will likely be handling that job with input from Webb. The Broncos are 2-2 as they head into a Week 5 divisional showdown with the 0-4 Chargers. Payton is in his 20th season as an NFL head coach, and for most of that span he has served as his team's offensive play-caller, but that changed this year.
Back in February, Payton decided that he wanted to hand over the play-calling reins to Webb. At the time, the Broncos underwent some changes on their coaching staff. Denver fired last year's offensive coordinator, Joe Lombardi, in January, and Webb was promoted from quarterbacks coach.
In the months leading up to the promotion, Payton considered giving the play-calling duties to Webb and he ended up making that official during the offseason. "It was something I kind of knew during the year. He and I visited on a handful of occasions.
With regards to play-calling, I think he'll be really good at it," Payton said back in February. Webb's first job as an NFL assistant coach came in 2023. When Payton was hired as the Broncos' coach, he brought on Webb as his QB coach, and the two had worked together for three seasons before Payton decided to give up play-calling duties so Webb could take over.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
