April 6, 2023 By: Woody Paige

Woody Paige: Sean Payton lays down the law on Russell Wilson

The Russell Wilson Resurgence Project has commenced a year after The Trade.

DangeRuss can’t be inoffensive again.

And Wilson’s entourage won’t be as conspicuous this time.

When the quarterback set only one record in 2022 – paying $25 million for a mansion in Cherry Hills — each member of his staff, referred to as Team3 (because all wore Russell’s jersey number) could have a personal bathroom. The group included a nutritionist, two chefs, a fitness trainer, marketing-social media specialists, two long-time friends, a chief of staff and a quarterback coach who didn’t work for the Broncos.

Yet, Wilson ended up with as many victories as his bedrooms — four.

Nevertheless, Nathaniel Hackett had no qualms about his quarterback’s retinue. “I think Russ has done a great job surrounding himself with a great support staff. We know them well,’’ the coach said. They appeared to be everywhere, including Wilson’s office on the second floor down the hall from Hackett, George Paton and Greg Penner at Broncos headquarters. “So I want him to have everything that he needs to be able to get to that (high level).’’

Hackett was fired after the fifth shortest stint in NFL history for a head coach – 15 games.

New coach Sean Payton won’t be as accommodating about Wilson’s special privileges and aides-de-training-camp. “That’s foreign to me. That’s not going to take place here. I’m unfamiliar with it, but our staff will be here; our players will be here, and that will be it.’’

Payton will have his own Force of Five to coach Wilson. Gone are the previous head coach and every offensive assistant and the instructional designer, whatever that meant.

Instead, unlike Hackett — who was Clueless in Seattle and on and on until he was relieved of play-calling, then his job — Payton has been as brilliant at calling plays for 21 seasons as a coordinator and head coach.

Payton’s offensive coordinator is Joe Lombardi, an Air Force Academy graduate who played tight end for the Falcons in the 1990s and spent four years in the Air Force. A grandson of the legendary Vince Lombardi, Joe has been an NFL assistant since 2006 and coached under Payton twice for a dozen seasons with the Saints. Lombardi was the Chargers’ offensive coordinator the past two season before being fired. Veteran assistant John Morton will serve as passing game coordinator; Davis Webb, a Giants-Jets-Bills backup quarterback from 2017-2022, retired to accept Payton’s offer to be Broncos quarterback coach, and Logan Kilgore, a former Middle Tennessee quarterback who was in a Saints camp briefly years ago, will become a quality control coach on offense.

Those five have coached, or played on teams with, Drew Brees, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr, Rich Gannon, Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Drew Bledsoe, Donovan McNabb, Kerry Collins, Josh Allen, Eli Manning and, oh, Arch Manning.

Wilson should be satisfied with this support staff, and the Broncos will run the plays on time without prodding from the crowd.

In Payton’s 15 years with the Saints the team averaged more than 28 points per game and had double-digit victory totals in nine seasons. The Broncos haven’t accomplished either since the Broncos won Super Bowl 50.

The Broncos’ rotten record last season was not all totally the fault of Wilson, but he was a major contributing factor.

Opponents sacked Wilson an NFL high and a career most 55 times. The offensive line was injured, incapable and incompetently coached. Running back Javonte Williams tore an ACL in the fourth game and was out for the season, and Melvin “Flush’’ Gordon III was a fumble waiting to occur with his five in one season and 12 in three seasons in Denver.

Wilson injured his shoulder, his hamstring and his thigh, suffered a concussion and was held out of two games.

Hackett certainly didn’t help Wilson with his offensive system, the game plans and the coach’s embarrassing inability to get the plays to the quarterback. And Wilson didn’t help himself with his worst offensive season since 2011 when he hit .228 for the Asheville Tourists in the Rockies’ minor league organization.

The 5-foot-11 quarterback also looked 15 pounds heavier than his advertised 215 pounds. Wilson didn’t cook, but he did eat.

The Russell Revival “Ride’’ must start here and now.