Prior to the kickoff of the 2023 NFL season, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton absolutely blasted Nathaniel Hackett, the one-and-done coach he took over for in Denver saying, "It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That's how bad it was."
The head coach walked back the statement after it caught steam and was taken as clear disrespect across the league, and a questionable comment from a matured and media-trained head coach. Regardless of whether or not Payton was right, he also had yet to prove anything with the same resources Hackett had at his disposal in Denver.
Five weeks in and Payton has led the Broncos to a 1-4 record, far away from what was expected of this team under his new leadership. Just so the record books are clear, the Broncos were 2-3 at this point last season...
The Week 5 matchup was highly anticipated because Hackett had found himself as the offensive coordinator in New York with the Jets. Hackett was brought along largely because of his experience working with Aaron Rodgers, who was expected to be the starter in New York before an unexpected Achilles' injury in Week 1.
After the game, Payton was not shockingly asked about Hackett and the Jets, and Payton's comments on him didn't exactly praise Hackett's performance.
Sean Payton still refuses to credit Nathaniel Hackett by name
Asked about Hackett after the game, here's what Payton had to say when he was asked how he would view this game as a chapter in his coaching career with some seeing it as a Hackett revenge game:
"They played better than us. And I credit Robert and that staff. They won the game and I think that's how I look at it."
Implicitly, yes, he did give some credit to Hackett, as Hackett is a part of Robert Saleh's staff. But would it kill Payton to give the guy some credit by name directly? The Jets put up 31 on the Broncos who have what should be a relatively decent defense, and Zach Wilson looked like a capable quarterback for the second straight week.
Payton might be just walking a proverbial tight-rope to try to keep from re-opening the can of worms that is the drama between him and Hackett, but lumping him in with, "Saleh's staff," feels like an intentionally deliberate wording to stop entirely short of saying Hackett did a good job.
Now the Broncos have a tough test ahead with the Chiefs coming to town on a short week. It'll take a big game for them to walk out of Week 6 at 2-4.
