dpDenver Broncos head coach Sean Payton pulled in Amazon host Charissa Thompson for a kiss after a pre-Thursday Night Football interview as ex-coworkers reconnected
Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football studio host Charissa Thompson interviewed Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton before his side’s Week 6 contest against the Seattle Seahawks.
Payton, calling plays for Denver after taking over from offensive coordinator Davis Webb, spoke about the vaunted Seattle defense and how he plans to unlock struggling quarterback Bo Nix. The Broncos head coach ended the interview by pulling Thompson, 44, and kissing her on the cheek.
The Broncos coach, 62, worked with Thompson on FOX’s NFL coverage in 2022 after leaving his longtime coaching job with the New Orleans Saints. Regardless, fans online found the moment “super weird.” It comes after Al Michaels stumbled over NFL player names on TNF.
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“That Sean Payton/Charissa Thompson kiss looked weird, but they were colleagues at one point. Still, it seems weird,” one wrote. “Sean Payton open-mouth kissing Charissa Thompson after their interview,” a different fan noted.
“Sean Payton kissing Charissa Thompson definitely wasn’t supposed to be caught on camera. Super weird,” another viewer tweeted.
“Sean Payton shooting his shot,” one viewer joked. “Sean Payton and Charissa Thompson a thing?” another asked.
Payton initially retired from coaching in early 2022 after spending 15 seasons with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints made the playoffs every year from 2017 to 2020, but sank to 9-8 in 2021 and missed the playoffs.
He was offered a five-year, $100 million deal by the Miami Dolphins, but instead opted to join FOX, where he served as a fill-in for Jimmy Johnson on various network studio shows. Payton also considered a job with Amazon.
Charissa Thompson joined Amazon in late 2022
The head coach’s stint on television didn’t last long. Payton interviewed for a host of head coaching jobs in 2023 and ultimately settled on Denver’s, joining a team hoping to compete that season with Russell Wilson.
He has a 35-21 record with the Broncos through parts of four seasons, guiding the team to a pair of playoff appearances and the 2025 AFC Championship Game as the conference’s top seed.
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Thompson worked on and off with FOX since the start of her career. She returned to the network on a longer-term deal in 2013 and remained until the fall of 2022, when she joined the upstart Amazon Prime Video Thursday Night Football crew.
Thompson serves as the host of the TNF panel alongside former NFL pros Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Over her career, she’s served as both a host and a sideline reporter.
She still works for FOX as the host of ‘FOX NFL Kickoff.’ It comes after the NFL world came together to support ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky after an ‘unimaginable’ family tragedy.
