ENFIELD, England (AP) — Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton asked the team bus driver in London how long it would take to get to Leicester.
Too long, it turns out, because Payton is too busy preparing his team to face the New York Jets on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But the memories are close for Payton, who played quarterback for the Leicester Panthers in 1988. The Panthers had played in what amounted to a semi-pro league in the British American Football Association. The sport had begun to gain popularity after public broadcaster Channel 4 started airing NFL highlights in the early 1980s.
Payton reminisced Wednesday about his experience in the central English city. Teams could have four Americans, and the rest were locals.
“They had all sorts of jobs,” he said of his British teammates, “from bouncers to construction. Some were young, some were older. It was fun.”
Payton had a sense that he was headed into coaching at the time.
“The four of us lived in a house, we’d go work out in the mornings, play some golf, put practice plans together,” he said. “We were pretty good.”
Payton previously coached New Orleans to victories in London — 37-32 over San Diego in 2008, and 20-0 over the Miami Dolphins in 2017, both at Wembley Stadium — and each time he said he's been able to catch up with old friends from his Leicester days.
On Friday, the Broncos plan to host U17 players from the Leicester Panthers at practice.
“I was 23 years old,” he recalled, “right out of college and basically playing for pizza, because you enjoyed it. It was a good six months, it was nice.”
He's previously described his Leicester experience as similar to the John Grisham novel “Playing for Pizza.”
His mother had asked: “All your friends are getting married and they have health insurance, what are you doing?”
After leaving England, Payton officially began his coaching career when he took a job as an assistant coach at San Diego State.
‘Hoping to get a London game’
The Broncos came to England after their big 21-17 victory over the Eagles in Philadelphia. After Sunday's game, it's back to Denver to host the New York Giants on Oct. 19. Their bye is in Week 12.
“We’ll be smart as to how we practice next week,” Payton said.
Getting away as a group can provide bonding experiences, he said.
“In New Orleans, we got displaced several times because of hurricanes, and I always felt it helped our team,” Payton said. “We were hoping to get a London game, because this type of experience with your team I think is really positive."
The Broncos stayed on the East Coast last season for games at Tampa Bay and the Jets — both victories.
Trap game? Bo says no
The 0-5 Jets are the only winless team in the NFL, but don't call it a trap game.
“Any game you can walk in and slip up and lose, that’s just the league,” second-year quarterback Bo Nix said. “They’ve been close on some games. There a couple of walk-off plays away from having two, three wins.”
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