The Denver Broncos have a new head coach, one of the most successful in league history, and if it wasn't already clear before, it should be clear now that this team is going to be handled completely differently than in years past.
Gone (hopefully) are the days where fans had to deal with mind-numbing decisions by the like of Vance Joseph, Vic Fangio and Nathaniel Hackett. That comedy of errors included horrible game-clock management, questionable decisions regarding playing time and the worst of all, fans inside the team's own stadium having to count down the play clock to avoid yet another delay of game penalty.
Payton decided to discuss how bad that was last season when Hackett was in charge and of course, many are grilling him for it. While what Payton said may not be the most politically correct action to take, it's not like he's it's not the truth.
Payton later apologized for allowing those words to come out of his mouth, but that apology didn't spare him from Aaron Rodgers, now the quarterback of the New York Jets and a personal friend of Hackett. Rodgers had this to say at Jets training camp:
“I think he needs to keep my coaches’ names out of his mouth.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 30, 2023
The full Aaron Rodgers response to @PSchrags on Sean Payton’s comments — exclusively on NFL+. pic.twitter.com/ZcCSW8iTuW
Look, it's completely understandable for Rodgers to stand up for coach Hackett, his current offensive coordinator and according to this interview, possibly his favorite coach he's ever had.
No one is arguing that Hackett is a "nice guy" either. However, Rodgers' main issue with the comments is just categorically incorrect. To derive that Payton is "insecure" or "setting himself up for some sort of easy fall if things don't go well this season" is just ridiculous.
Perhaps Payton should not have thrown Hackett under the bus, but no matter how nice of a guy Hackett is, it's hard to deny how bad last season was for the Broncos. It's not something that is up for debate. Here's a short list of some of the reasons for that:
- Game management that was so bad he had to hire an assistant coach (Jerry Rosburg) to help him with certain aspects of the game after the season had already started.
- Home fans counting down the play clock to avoid a delay of game penalty.
- Playing so badly that some fans LEFT at home during a tie game going to overtime.
- Two players fighting on the sideline during a blowout loss to the lowly Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Day.
Those are just some of the reasons (though that is plenty) as to why Hackett became just the fourth rookie head coach in NFL history to be fired before completing his first season in the position. And, I'm sorry Aaron Rodgers, but that was very warranted.
You know what else was warranted? Payton's comments.
Maybe his comments shouldn't be seen as much of a slight on Hackett by players on the Jets but more of a direct shot at the Broncos' organization for how things have been ran the past several years and how that is no longer going to be the case.
And even if the Jets don't like it, Hackett was as bad as any coach the league has ever seen. You can make a solid argument that it was the worst job ever by an NFL head coach in history, regardless of how nice of a guy he is.
Again, sorry to Mr. Rodgers, but his favorite coach was inexcusably bad in Denver and fans within Broncos Country should be thrilled that Payton stepped up and stated just that. Hopefully, that means a much more competent effort is about to be put forth.
And that Broncos-Jets battle in Week 5, as stated here, is now a must-see game.