Not everyone has been a fan of what the New York Jets have done this offseason.
A new offensive coordinator, the acquisition of a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, and several key depth signings weren’t enough to stave off the frustration of another long-time NFL head coach.
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton branded newly-hired Jets’ OC Nathaniel Hackett’s 2022 season in charge of the Broncos as possibly “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL,” while speaking to USA Today Thursday.
The comments come a year after the Broncos went 4-11 with Hackett at the helm and 5-12 overall. They missed the playoffs and finished last in the AFC West. Denver had the worst offense in football last year even with Russell Wilson at quarterback with several players publicly complaining about the coach’s tenure. It all boiled down to Hackett being fired before the end of his first season with a team: something that rarely happens in the NFL.
“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 fucking time trying to win the offseason — the P.R., the pomp and circumstance, marching people around, and all this stuff. Everything I heard about last season, we’re doing the opposite,” Payton said.
Payton did not leave his critiques solely towards the Jets’ new offensive staff. With New York being “forced” onto HBO’s “Hard Knocks” this season, the former Super Bowl champion in New Orleans was quick to say how bad that decision could be for the organization.
“We’re not doing any of that,” Payton said. “The Jets did that this year. You watch. Hard Knocks, all of it. I can see it coming.” Remember when Dan Snyder put that Dream Team together? I was at the Giants. I was a young coach. I thought, ‘How are we going to compete with them? Deion’s there now.’ That team won eight games or whatever. So, listen . . . just put the work in.”
New York has repeatedly acknowledged that they did not want to join the Emmy-Award-Winning show and have since scaled back what the show could even cover in the halls of 1 Jets Drive. Still, Payton’s abrasive shots at the Jets will certainly add more to the team’s meeting in a few months.
The Broncos will host the Jets in Week 5 of the 2023 season when Peyton will go head-to-head with the team he was quick to critique
