30 July 2023 , 19:24
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Aaron Rodgers ripped Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton in response to the 59-year-old disparaging New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett earlier this week. Payton publicly blamed Hackett, his predecessor in Denver, for "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL" — comments that aggravated Rodgers.
"Yeah, I love Nathaniel Hackett, and those comments were very surprising for a coach to do that to another coach," the Jets quarterback told NFL+. "I thought it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he needs to keep my coach's name out of his mouth.
"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 pushed for his trade to New York partly because of his positive relationship with Hackett, his offensive coordinator for several years with the Green Bay Packers. After leaving Green Bay, Hackett spent less than one season as Denver's head coach, going 4-11 before the team fired him on December 26.
"There's so much dirt around that," Payton controversially told USA Today last week. "There's 20 dirty hands, for what was allowed, tolerated in the fricking training rooms, the meeting rooms. The offense. I don't know Hackett. A lot of people had dirt on their hands. It wasn't just Russell [Wilson]. He didn't just flip. He still has it. This B.S. that he hit a wall? Shoot, they couldn't get a play in. They were 29th in the league in pre-snap penalties on both sides of the ball.
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"Everything I heard about last season, we're doing the opposite. Everybody's got a little stink on their hands. It's not just Russell. It was a (poor) offensive line. It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That's how bad it was."
Amid backlash, Payton apologized for his remarks. "It was a learning experience for me," he said. "It was a mistake, obviously. I needed a little bit more filter … I said what I said, and obviously I needed a little bit more restraint, and I regret that."
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has received blowback over comments made about New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. (Getty Images via The Denver Post)The Jets will meet the Broncos in Week 5 in what will now be a drama-filled showdown. While New York expect big things this year with Rodgers under centre, Denver are just looking to scrape out a winning record after their disastrous 2022. So, this might not have been the best time for Payton to speak out.
"I'm not going to acknowledge Sean on that, he's been in the league a while so he can say whatever he wants," Jets head coach Robert Saleh said after Payton criticised Hackett. "I kind of live by a saying — 'If you ain't got no haters, you ain't popping.' So hate away.
"Obviously we're doing something right if you've gotta talk about us when we don't play you until Week 5."