Sean Payton tried to keep things cordial after the Broncos’ loss, saying he thinks the world of Dre Greenlaw and “loves everything about him.” Greenlaw had no interest in matching that tone.
After the game, the 49ers linebacker was blunt about the moment that drew attention between him and the Denver coach. “I told him to get the f- off the field,” Dre Greenlaw said of his viral postgame moment with Payton. “That’s it: ‘Get the f- off the field.’”
The tension goes back to Greenlaw’s brief run in Denver. The Broncos moved on after one season, one that ended with Greenlaw posting 43 tackles in eight regular season games while dealing with injuries and serving a suspension.
Greenlaw told Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle that Payton had been icing him out since Week 12 of last season because of his play and the Broncos’ return on their investment. “He would walk by - I would walk by - and he wouldn’t even look at me because of my injury. So I just knew what it was (with him) there,” Dre Greenlaw told Branch.
He also said he was “1,000 percent” more amped because of his dislike for Payton, and the cameras picked up Greenlaw barking at the Broncos head coach several times during the game.
Part of what bothered him most was how the release came down. Payton didn’t call Greenlaw directly when Denver cut him; Greenlaw said he found out through his agent.
“The disrespect,” Greenlaw said. “He couldn’t be man to man and call my phone and say, ‘We’re going to cut you.’”
Greenlaw backed up the edge with production, leading the 49ers with 12 tackles in their 24-14 win over the Broncos. For one night, at least, he turned what he viewed as disrespect into fuel.
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