Broncos coach Sean Payton apologizes for comments about Nathaniel Hackett & New York Jets. What did he say?

Following what was a horrendous 2022-23 campaign, there were always going to be changes within the Denver Broncos. With that former New Orleans Saints coach, Sean Payton was brought in to ‘fix’ the problem. Of course, nobody expected him to start doing that by laying into the man who he replaced, before taking aim at another team in the league. Let’s get into it.

Sean Payton opened a can of worms by criticizing Nathaniel Hackett & the Jets

If you caught our previous report about Sean Payton’s tirade, then you know that he didn’t exactly give a resounding endorsement of the previous coach, Nathaniel Hackett. Indeed, Payton referred to Hackett’s time in charge as “...one of the worst coaching jobs in NFL,” which is to say, ‘tell us how you really feel. Of course, Payton didn’t stop there either. He then took a shot at the New York Jets where interestingly enough Hackett is the new offensive coordinator.

“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. 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. 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.” Needless to say, those comments weren’t well received by the New York Jets and head coach Robert Saleh made that very clear. Speaking on Thursday, Saleh had this to say: “I’m not going to acknowledge Sean. He’s been in the league awhile, he can say whatever the hell he wants,” Saleh said. “Obviously we’re doing something right if you’ve gotta talk about us when we don’t play until Week 4 (actually Week 5). ...There are a lot of crows pecking at our neck.” This brings us all the way to the present, where Payton actually walked back on his statements.

So, what did Sean Payton say in his apology?

Speaking on Friday, Payton apologized for his remarks in front of reporters and went as far as to say that he regretted his words less than an hour after the interview. “Listen, I had one of those moments where I still had my FOX hat on and not my coaching hat on,” Payton said, via NFL Media. “I said this to the team in the meeting yesterday, we’ve had a great offseason relative to that. I’ve been preaching that message, and here I am, the veteran, stepping in it. It was a learning experience for me, it was a mistake, obviously. I need a little bit more filter.” Payton then went on to apologize to Coach Saleh. “I think the world of Robert. I know him. I don’t know Nathaniel. But at the right time. It certainly will bring more interest in the game when we play them, but that seems like years from now. But I’ll handle it the right way,” Payton said.

Former Broncos OT Billy Turner now plays for the Jets and had something to say

In a statement that is sure to further fan the flames, former Broncos offensive tackle, Billy Turner, took to social media in a scathing response to Payton’s initial insults. To be clear, the veteran is now a member of the Jets’ roster and we can safely say, he’s not a fan of the team he used to play for, or it’s new coach “Seems like someone started training camp and is trying to soften the blow after realizing what he’s in for this season. F****** bum,” Turner wrote. He also used the hashtag #BountyGate in reference to Payton’s scandal that got him suspended for the entire 2012 season. Turner finished with the hashtag #childish.