Bo Nix has a clear preference when it comes to where Davis Webb should call plays from, and it lines up with what Webb and Sean Payton appear to be leaning toward as well.
Webb, the Broncos’ new offensive coordinator, has been weighing whether to handle play-calling from the sideline or from the booth. On Saturday after practice, he said the choice had not been finalized, though his preference was to stay on the sideline. Payton echoed that view on Monday, and Nix said that setup makes the most sense to him.
“I’ve always loved it from a quarterback to a play-caller when they’re on the sideline with me," Nix said after Day 9's training camp practice. "I feel like they get the feel of the game a little bit differently."
Nix’s point is simple: being on the sideline keeps the play-caller in the middle of the action, close to the emotion, the flow, and the feedback coming off the field. That’s a different job than working from the booth, where everything comes through the phone and the view is more detached.
The Broncos have seen both approaches before. Vic Fangio preferred to call plays from the booth as a defensive coordinator, but when he became head coach in 2019, he had to adjust and call his defense from the sideline.
He eventually settled into that role before returning to the booth once he went back to being a coordinator. Wade Phillips, another former Broncos head coach and the defensive coordinator in Super Bowl 50, called plays from the sideline.
Nix said each man had his own feel for the job.
"It’s obviously seeing the game from a different vantage point, but I think they get to feel the emotions on the sideline," Nix said. "They get to feel the comments from us coming off the sideline, what we’re seeing and all that kind of stuff."
For Nix, the comfort level is obvious. He has always had his play-caller nearby on the sideline as a pro, first with Payton and now with Webb, who served as his quarterbacks coach and Broncos pass game coordinator last year. That face-to-face exchange matters to him.
"I like when the play caller is there with me, and I can come off and have the eye-to-eye conversation," Nix said. "We can sit down and look at the pictures and go through them together and really get to hear from him and not have to call up to the office or get on a headset. I think the eye-to-eye communication is really important, so I’m excited that he’s going to be down there with us.”
Payton’s view seems to match that. He said the Broncos are not “splitting the atom,” and that Webb will probably be where he feels most comfortable.
“Well, it’s not like we’re splitting the atom," Payton said. "That’s probably where he’ll be with his communication and the QBs. It’s an area where I felt comfortable, and I think you get the plays in so quickly either from up or down, but I have that same vision.”
Webb’s rise has been fast. He was starting the Giants’ season finale at quarterback and then, within weeks in January of 2023, he was in Denver as Payton’s quarterbacks coach.
Now he’s preparing to call plays for the first time in his coaching career. Nix said that background as a quarterback helps explain why the sideline feels like the natural fit.
"From his point of view and playing quarterback his whole career, I think that’s just where he feels comfortable," Nix said of Webb. "A lot of former quarterbacks like to call it from the sideline."
There’s still the possibility of using preseason games to test both setups, with Webb on the sideline in one and in the booth in another. But with Webb, Payton, and Nix all pointing in the same direction, the Broncos seem likely to keep their new offensive coordinator right where the quarterback wants him: close enough to talk, react, and adjust in real time.
Webb has also said he’s excited about Nix’s third season, drawing a parallel to what he saw in Buffalo when Josh Allen’s third year was preceded by the Bills trading for Stefon Diggs. He suggested that Jaylen Waddle’s arrival could provide a similar Year-3 boost for Nix.
That may be part of the equation, but Webb himself could be just as important to Nix’s next step. Their partnership is still young, and the way they handle these early months together should say plenty about where the Broncos’ offense is headed.
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