Sean Payton is making some new enemies in his first season as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
In a wide-ranging interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell that was published on Thursday, Payton spoke candidly about what he feels went wrong for the Broncos last season. Payton believes one of the issues was the way the team allowed the offseason hype to get out of control.
“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 (expletive) time trying to win the offseason – the PR, the pomp and circumstance, marching people around and all this stuff.”
Payton added that he has seen that same situation unfold with a different team over the past few months — the New York Jets.
“We’re not doing any of that. The Jets did that this year. You watch. ‘Hard Knocks,’ all of it. I can see it coming,” Payton said. “Remember when (former Washington owner) Dan Snyder put that Dream Team together? I was at the Giants (in 2000). I was a young coach. I thought, ‘How are we going to compete with them? Deion’s (Sanders) there now.’ That team won eight games or whatever. So, listen … just put the work in.”
The Jets, of course, would have preferred not to be chosen for “Hard Knocks.” Payton may have been referring more to the way they openly courted Aaron Rodgers, but it’s hard to make a trade of that magnitude while also keeping expectations in check. The Broncos experienced that after they acquired Russell Wilson last year.
The Broncos host the Jets on Oct. 8 this season. If that game was not already considered must-see TV, it will be now.
Former Denver head coach Nathaniel Hackett is now the offensive coordinator with the Jets, and Payton also unloaded on him this week.
