Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is trying to right the ship after last season’s disastrous 5-12 campaign that saw the team finish in the AFC West basement.
While the new-look Broncos have yet to debut under new coach Sean Payton, Wilson is receiving backing from legendary NFL coach Mike Holmgren, who was around his former franchise, the Seattle Seahawks, when they drafted Wilson in 2012.
“I kind of was keeping my distance there because when he was with Seattle, I got to know him and he would text me and ask me questions,” Holmgren told Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette. “I’m the old coach. I’ve got to be careful. You’ve got other guys coaching. Let’s keep it like that.”
Still, Holgrem sent Wilson a clear message about what it was like to coach fellow NFL legend Brett Favre.
“He’s very curious,” Holmgren said about Wilson. “He was very inquisitive. I told him, ‘If I lived through Brett, I can live through anything.'”
Holmgren also advised Wilson on how to succeed in the NFL.
“I remember one of my earliest conversations with him,” Holmgren said. “He wanted to sit down and talk to me when I was doing a show [at the Seahawks facility]. He seemed to be very attentive. I told him, ‘You’re going to be pulled in a million different directions in the league, and you’ve got to learn to say no. You have to learn to focus on your football.'”
Wilson certainly heeded the advice after capturing his own Super Bowl with the Seahawks.