New Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was brought in to fix a team that had Super Bowl aspirations when they traded for Russell Wilson. There is plenty of blame to go around for last year’s Denver disaster, but Payton specifically pointed to former head coach Nathaniel Hackett for doing what he described as a historically bad job.
“They can only beat the (expletive) out of you so much,” Payton told USA TODAY. “But everybody’s got a little stink on their hands. It’s not just Russell [Wilson]. 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.”
Jets head coach Robert Saleh saw the quote, and addressed Payton’s remarks on Thursday.
“I’m not going to acknowledge Sean. He’s been in the league awhile, he can say whatever the hell he wants,” Saleh said. “Obviously we’re doing something right if you’ve gotta talk about us when we don’t play until Week 4 (actually Week 5). … There are a lot of crows pecking at our neck.”
Less than 24 hours later, Payton apologized for his remarks in front of reporters.
“Listen, I had one of those moments where I still had my FOX hat on and not my coaching hat on,” Payton said, via NFL Media. “I said this to the team in the meeting yesterday, 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, it was a mistake, obviously. I need a little bit more filter.”
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He also apologized to Coach Saleh.
“I think the world of Robert. I know him. I don’t know Nathaniel. But at the right time. It certainly will bring more interest in the game when we play them, but that seems like years from now. But I’ll handle it the right way,” Payton said, via Pro Football Talk.
It was shocking to see Payton apologize so quickly, but a former NFL quarterback seems to know why.
Robert Griffin III took to Twitter and posted a picture of Saleh with a message to Payton.
“Dear Sean Payton, We understand,” Robert Griffin III wrote, sharing the picture of Saleh looking very swole.
Broncos went 5-12 in Russell Wilson’s first season in Denver and the team finished dead last in the AFC West. The division features Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, so nothing will come easy to them in 2023 or beyond.
The New York Jets will have a future Hall of Famer at quarterback this year after trading for the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers in the offseason. After going 7-10 in 2022, the New York Jets have their sights on the postseason and getting to the Super Bowl.
