Sean Payton apologized this week after he was highly critical of former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett, but Aaron Rodgers is clearly still steaming over the remarks.
Payton trashed the previous Broncos coaching regime while talking up his squad in an interview that USA Today’s Jarrett Bell published on Thursday. A day later, Payton said he regretted the comments and that he was acting more like the analyst he served as last season for FOX than the head coach of a team.
During a sitdown interview with NFL Network’s Peter Schrager on Sunday, Rodgers unloaded on Payton.
AARON RODGERS TO @PSchrags re: Sean Payton comments regarding JETS OC Nathaniel Hackett. “Those comments were very surprising. For a coach to do that to another coach. My love for Hackett goes deep… (cont) He’s arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL.”
THERE’S MORE.
— Jamie Erdahl 💍 Buckman (@JamieErdahl) July 30, 2023
“Those comments were very surprising. For a coach to do that to another coach,” Rodgers said. “My love for Hackett goes deep. … He’s arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL.”
Rodgers also said Payton needs to “keep my coach’s name out of his mouth.”
Aaron Rodgers just went in on Sean Payton in a sitdown with @PSchrags on NFL+. It ended with Rodgers saying Payton needs to “keep my coach’s name out of his mouth.”
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 30, 2023
Hackett was the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers from 2019-2021. His success working with Rodgers was one of the main factors that led to him landing the Broncos job last year. Hackett is now the OC of the New York Jets and has maintained a strong relationship with Rodgers.
In addition to throwing shots at Hackett, Payton also had a bold prediction about how things will go for the Jets this season. Rodgers probably did not appreciate that, either.
Fortunately for NFL fans, the Broncos host the Jets on Oct. 8. That has suddenly become one of the most intriguing games on the 2023 NFL schedule.
