Ryan Leaf goes scorched earth on Sean Payton's 'ego problem'

It's been a while since the Saints had to think about Sean Payton. He left the team in 2021, and after a gap year doing ... something? ... he landed the Broncos' head coaching gig in 2023. And while the highs of the Payton era were quite literally as good as they get, the lows left a bad taste in a lot of Saints' fans mouth.

They also, apparently, left a bad taste in Ryan Leaf's mouth.

While speaking with Kay Adams this week, Leaf didn't hold back on his criticism of the former Saints head coach.

Ryan Leaf goes scorched earth on Sean Payton's 'ego problem'

"I'm not a huge Sean Payton fan, I'm sure he's not a huge fan of mine," Leaf said. "I think he's probably got the worst type of ego for a head coach in the NFL right now, so that's going to be a problem for this team I think ... I don't know, with the release of Russell [Wilson], has given himself a couple years to figure it out and find his way. He must have some really good job security, because I don't think Denver's going to be good for a couple years."

This feels oddly personal for just being asked a question about how the Broncos are going to do this year? Then again, it's not like this is the first time that Payton's ego has been brought up and talked about in a not-so-positive light. It feels a bit like dragging up old gripes just for the fun of it, but then again, there are probably a whole bunch of Saints fans who are totally fine with that. Surely Payton's response will be enlightening and not full of condescending tones.