In Florham Park, N.J., Aaron Rodgers is standing in support of his offensive coordinator while taking a sharp shot back at Sean Payton.
The Jets’ quarterback was unsettled by recent critical remarks from Sean Payton, the head coach of the Denver Broncos, about offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. In a story published by USA Today on Thursday, Payton described Hackett’s 15-game tenure with the Broncos last season as “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”
Additionally, Payton commented on Russell Wilson’s career-worst season, attributing it to “20 dirty hands” and also took some jabs at the Jets, the team where Hackett now works alongside Rodgers again, following their successful partnership in Green Bay.
“I was deeply disappointed to see someone with a significant NFL legacy resort to such insecurity by trying to undermine another person to protect their own interests in case things don’t go well for their team this year,” Aaron Rodgers expressed during his interview with NFL Network on Sunday. “I believe those comments were completely uncalled for, inappropriate, and he should refrain from mentioning my coaches’ names in such a manner.”
Following his move to New York from Green Bay in April, Rodgers praised Nathaniel Hackett, calling him “arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL.” Their collaboration during two of Rodgers’ four NFL MVP award-winning seasons (2020 and 2021) with the Packers has left a positive impact.
During the interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, Sean Payton not only criticized Hackett but also took a dig at the Jets, suggesting they were just another team trying to win the offseason, a strategy he claimed the Broncos, under Hackett’s leadership, attempted and faced embarrassment.
In response to Payton’s comments, Jets coach Robert Saleh defended Hackett, praising his phenomenal work with the team. Saleh emphasized that the Jets are solely focused on their own progress and development, despite knowing that there are critics and doubters who wish to see them fail.
Sean Payton later expressed regret for his disparaging remarks about Hackett and stated his intention to reach out to both Hackett and Saleh at the appropriate time to address the issue.
Sean Payton explained that his critical remarks about Nathaniel Hackett were a result of momentarily wearing his “Fox hat” as a studio football analyst, not his coaching hat. He clarified that he still had the mindset of a media personality when making those comments, as he had been working with Fox Sports following his 15-year tenure with the New Orleans Saints. This season, Payton is returning to the sidelines as the head coach for the Denver Broncos.
Aaron Rodgers, in response to Payton’s comments, expressed his surprise, stating that it’s uncommon for one coach to publicly criticize another coach in such a manner.
As for the upcoming Jets’ matchup against the Broncos in Week 5 on October 8, Payton acknowledged that his remarks would likely add more intrigue to the game, but also remarked that the game still seems like it’s far off in the future.