Over the past week, many NFL coaches and players have commented on Broncos’ new head coach Sean Payton comments about former Denver head coach Nathaniel Hackett, now the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
Last week, Payton told USA Today in an interview that Hackett’s 15-game run with the Broncos last season was “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL” and that there were “20 dirty hands” around quarterback Russell Wilson.
He also jabbed his new team in New York, suggesting they were infatuated with the “pomp and circumstance” of a blockbuster offseason that included the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers. Payton hinted that the Jets were a “dream team” that is doomed to failure.
The former New Orleans Saints head coach (15 years) and Fox Sports analyst (one year) said days later that he made “a mistake,” saying he planned to call Hackett and Jets head coach Robert Saleh to apologize “at the right time.”
After last Friday’s practice, Payton spoke to his players about his comments in a team meeting, saying, “I needed a bit more restraint, I regret that.”
“Listen, I had one of those moments where I still had my Fox [network television] hat on and not my coaching hat on,” Payton said. “I said this to the team: We’ve had a great offseason relative to that, I’ve been preaching that message, and here I am the veteran stepping in it. It was a learning experience for me, a mistake obviously. I need a little bit more filter.”
Hackett responded after Jets training camp earlier this week on Tuesday, saying he hasn’t received an apology from Payton, adding that he doesn’t expect him to follow through on his promise.
Not referring to Payton by name, Hackett said he wasn’t surprised by his remarks, claiming his Denver successor has been blasting him publicly for a year and his criticism about his coaching performance last season violated an unwritten coach “code.”
“Obviously, [the] last week has been a very unique week for this organization,” Hackett said. “I’ve been involved in this business my whole life – 43 years. As a coach, as a coach’s kid, we live in a glass house. We know that. We all live in different rooms, and we all have a key to it. It’s one of those things, there’s a code, there’s a way things are done in that house.”
“This past week, it’s frustrating and it sucks, but we’re all susceptible to it – the things you do, the mistakes you make. It costs you time on the field, it costs you your job … all those things. And I own all that stuff. That’s a fact. I’ve got no excuses.”
Asked if he believes Payton broke the code of the coaching fraternity, Hackett said, “I do. I do.” He said the criticism was “very expected. You knew it was going to happen. You knew he was going to handle it that way at some point. That’s how it was going all last year.”
As a part of Fox last year, the current Bronco’s head coach judged him for letting Wilson have a private coach and his own office at the team facility. Going 4-11 before getting canned, Hackett had trouble with discipline and clock management all year, and Payton went after him verbally for it.
Payton was hired by new ownership to help turn around the veteran quarterback’s career, as Wilson had his worst statistical season last year, dating back to having the worst year than any season he had as a Seattle Seahawk prior to getting traded.
Current Jets quarterback Rodgers was also vocal and supported his offensive coordinator about this beef between him and Payton, as he has a history with Hackett when he was the offensive coordinator for the Packers from 2019-2021. Rodgers had two MVP seasons in Green Bay with current head coach Matt LaFleur. At that time, it also helped Hackett land a head-coaching gig in 2022.
Rodgers, in a previous response to Payton’s comments prior to Hackett’s, said “a lot of people were surprised” by Payton’s criticism.
“I didn’t like it at all,” said Rodgers, who called the current Broncos head coach “insecure” in a previous interview. The veteran signal-caller continued and defended Hackett, stating it was out of character “for a coach to do that to another coach.”
The former Packers star also said Sunday that “my love for Hack goes deep,” adding that he is “arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL.”
“It made me feel bad that someone who has accomplished a lot in the league is that insecure that they have to take another man down to set themselves up for some easy fall if it doesn’t go well for that team this year,” Rodgers told NFL+ in a sit-down interview after practice. “I think it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he needs to keep my coaches’ names out of his mouth.”
Hackett was hired this offseason after his release from Denver to replace their former offensive coordinator, Mike LaFleur, who is now the OC for the Los Angeles Rams. The addition of this new OC in particular helped land Rodgers in a blockbuster trade to New York, as he and Hackett are very close.
“We had some great years together in Green Bay,” Rodgers told NFL+. “[We] kept in touch. Love him and his family. He’s an incredible family man and an incredible dad. And on the field, he’s arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL. Just his approach to it. He makes it fun, how he cares about the guys, just how he goes about his business with respect, with leadership, with honesty, with integrity.”
Payton’s comments also reached Saleh this week, as he spoke out against the criticism of Hackett.
“I kind of live by the saying, ‘If you ain’t got no haters, you ain’t popping,'” Saleh said. “So hate away. Obviously, we’re doing something right if you’ve got to talk about us when we don’t play you until [Week 5].”
Hackett said the stir has actually been beneficial for the team, as the noise seemed to help him feel supported by the Jets community with them reaching out in retaliation, including players and coaches, current and former.
“Everybody has been unbelievable,” Hackett said. “I think that’s something that’s just awesome. It has brought our team together.”
Asked about the Week 5 matchup in Denver in October, Hackett smiled and said, “It’s just another game.”
