Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is walking back the comments he made in a USA Today interview about Nathaniel Hackett, the 2022 Broncos, and the New York Jets.
Sean Payton Said His Comments Were A ‘Mistake’
Sean Payton said he maybe still had his FOX hat on during his interview with @JarrettBell and not his coaching hat. Payton said the Broncos had a great off-season outside of that interview. He regretted it 40 minutes after the interview. pic.twitter.com/SftDtwGNnU
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) July 28, 2023
“Listen, I had one of those moments where I still had my FOX hat on and not my coaching hat on,” Payton said during his Friday news conference (video via NFL Network’s James Palmer). “I said this to the team in a meeting yesterday, we’ve had a great offseason relative to that and I’ve been preaching that message, and here I am, the veteran, stepping in it. It was a learning experience for me, it was a mistake, obviously. I need a little bit more filter.”
In the USA Today interview, Payton said Hackett, the former head coach of the Broncos and current offensive coordinator for the Jets, was responsible for “one of the worst coaching jobs in the NFL” in 2022. Payton went on to call it an “embarrassment.”
Payton continued to criticize the Broncos, blaming the organization — the GM, president, and “everybody else who watched it all happen” — for what happened to Russell Wilson, who experienced his worst season as a pro. On Friday, Payton changed his tune, citing the front office as why he wanted to come to Denver.
“The front office and the ownership are the two reasons I came here,” Payton explained. “So, George (Paton) and I are close; he was one of the big attractions, he and ownership. My point was it was just across the board organizationally. It wasn’t one person.”
Sean Payton Will Reach Out To Nathaniel Hackett And Robert Saleh
Here’s Sean Payton on Robert Saleh, says he “thinks the world of him” and doesn’t know Nathaniel Hackett, but will reach out at the “appropriate time.”@KOAColorado #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/kgIcfWUTNl
— Brandon Krisztal (@BKDenverSports) July 28, 2023
Payton also took shots at the Jets, Hackett’s current employer. Payton cited “the pomp and circumstance” of Hard Knocks won’t work for the Jets.
However, Payton said he would reach out to Hackett and head coach Robert Saleh “at the right time.”
“I think the world of Robert (Saleh), I know him,” Payton said (video via Brandon Krisztal). “I don’t know Nathaniel (Hackett). At the right time. It certainly will bring more interest to the game when we play them, but that seems like years from now. But I’ll handle it the right way.”
The Broncos host the Jets in Week 5 on October 8.
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