Sean Payton may have put back on the coaching hat, but he wasn’t done broadcasting his feelings like he was still opining for FOX Sports. The newly minted Denver Broncos head coach didn’t mince words when speaking to USA Today about the previous staff. And even though he apologized for what he said, the damage was already done. And now he’s drawn the ire of New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers, a man who never seems to forget or forgive.
Aaron Rodgers Strikes Back
“I thought it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he needs to keep my coach’s name [Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett] out of his mouth,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers remained complimentary of his offensive coordinator for the first 90% of his answer to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager. But Rodgers unloaded on Payton at the very end, like a pro wrestling heel shooting a promo for an upcoming match.
“It made me feel bad that someone (Payton) who’s accomplished a lot in the league is that insecure that they have to take another man down to set themselves up for some sort of easy fall if it doesn’t go well for that team this year,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers and Hackett have some remarkable history together. Hackett was Rodgers’ OC for his consecutive MVP awards in 2020 and 2021 before climbing his way up the coaching ladder and becoming the head coach of the Broncos in 2022.
There is no denying that the Broncos, and the play of Russell Wilson, was a disaster in 2022. But it’s not often we see coaches go at another’s throat, even if they are actively being paid to provide their opinions on such things on a television set (save for the Ryan brothers).
It was clear that Rodgers knew the question would come. But he stoically paused before starting his answer, to show he was thinking carefully about how to navigate his response. And for someone who has had his fair share of head-tilting quotes over the past few years, Rodgers handled this football situation like he does opposing zone defenses. He carved it up.
It’s easy to tell that he cares about Hackett. For someone as vain as Rodgers, why wouldn’t the coach that helped him produce two MVP awards be “arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL?” But he calmly lit into Payton with a delivery that hit like a mom telling you she’s not mad but disappointed in you.
Sean Payton’s Comments
“It doesn’t happen often where an NFL team or organization gets embarrassed,” Payton said. “And that happened here. Part of it was their own fault, relative to spending so much (expletive) time trying to win the offseason – the PR, the pomp and circumstance, marching people around and all this stuff. We’re not doing any of that.
“The Jets did that this year. You watch. ‘Hard Knocks,’ all of it. I can see it coming. Remember when (former Washington owner) Dan Snyder put that Dream Team together? I was at the Giants (in 2000). I was a young coach. I thought, ‘How are we going to compete with them? Deion’s (Sanders) there now.’ That team won eight games or whatever. So, listen…just put the work in.”
Payton talks about not winning the offseason, but he began the USA Today interview by saying he’d be “pissed” if the team he’s coaching that won just five games a season ago and plays in the same division as Patrick Mahomes doesn’t make the playoffs. The Broncos added multiple offensive linemen to try and help bolster the offensive attack, and Joe Lombardi returns to Payton after parting ways with the Los Angeles Chargers.
“I needed a bit more restraint. I regret that,” Payton said Friday.
The Jets and Broncos meet in Denver on Oct. 8. If Denver hasn’t made significant strides from last season by that time, the man who neither forgives nor forgets will do everything in his power to embarrass them, just as Payton said the franchise had been before they hired him.