Recapping Sean Payton, Nathaniel Hackett Beef Ahead of Jets-Broncos Game

First-year Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton soaked in his team's first win of the season last Sunday before acknowledging the drama ahead of him in Week 5.

"These guys can enjoy it," Payton said Sunday of Broncos players celebrating after a comeback victory over the Chicago Bears. "Then, we get ready to go next week and we can dive into the whole Jets fiasco stuff."

Fiasco might be an understatement. Payton made headlines over the summer when he told USA Today that his predecessor, Nathaniel Hackett, was fired after perhaps "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL." Ouch. Hackett lasted only 15 games as Denver's coach last season and now serves as the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets.

Hackett returns to Denver on Sunday for a matchup between the Jets and Broncos.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said this week that, in football terms, the summer's back-and-forth between Payton and Hackett feels like 15 or 20 years ago. Still, the Jets coach pulled a line from Deion Sanders and admitted Sunday will be "personal" for Hackett.

"That is a non-topic," Saleh said of the summer feud. "But for Hackett, obviously it is going to be a personal feel to go back, but I think he understands just living as a coach's kid, understanding the process, he will know how to handle himself, he will know exactly how to keep his emotions in check, and make sure we do what is best for this organization and this team as it stands now. I fully expect him to be perfectly fine and levelheaded."

Neither team's season is going quite as planned. The Jets lost starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a torn Achilles on his fourth snap of the season, while the Broncos had to overcome a 21-point deficit to the winless Chicago Bears in Week 4 for their first win under Payton.

Even if the on-field product leaves something to be desired, there should still be plenty of drama in Denver this weekend. Need a refresher on who said what during this whole Payton-Hackett ordeal? Here's a recap on the apparent bad blood between the current Broncos coach and the former one.

What Else Did Payton Say About Hackett?

Payton took a one-year break from coaching last season after a 15-year stint with the New Orleans Saints. The Super Bowl-winning coach signed a five-year contract in the offseason and set his sights on turning around the Broncos.

Denver finished 5-12 last season, with all but two of those games coming before Hackett was fired. The Broncos finished last in the league in scoring (16.9 points per game). Quarterback Russell Wilson, whom the team had just traded multiple players and draft picks for—and given a lucrative extension—set career lows in touchdown passes (16) and completion percentage (60.5) while being sacked a league-high 55 times.

Fair to say Payton wasn't shy about wanting to see improvement in 2023.

"Everybody's got a little stink on their hands," Payton told USA Today in July when referencing Denver's struggles last season. "It's not just Russell. It was a [poor] offensive line. It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That's how bad it was."

Simply put, Payton said that, "Everything I heard about last season, we're doing the opposite." Payton also took shots at the Jets for the publicity they were receiving over the summer after trading for Rodgers and being featured on HBO's sports documentary series "Hard Knocks."

Payton later apologized for his harsh comments toward Hackett, calling them a "mistake."

How Did Hackett Respond?

In his first press conference after Payton's comments, Hackett called the situation "unfortunate" and said that his successor in Denver went against a code among coaches.

"As a coach, as a coach's kid, we live in a glass house," Hackett said on August 1. "We know that...there's a code, there's a way things are done in that house. This past week—it's frustrating, and it sucks. But we're all susceptible to it. There are things that you do, mistakes that you make, and it costs you time on the field, it costs you your job. All those things. And I own all that stuff. I've got no excuses. That's how we live here at the New York Jets. That's how we've lived everywhere I've been—no excuses.

"It's unfortunate that that had to happen—the comments that were made. But hey, they did."

Hackett said at the time that he was surprised that Payton's comments happened during the summer and not ahead of their regular-season matchup. The longtime NFL offensive coordinator said he was thankful to "get that out of the way" and that "we all understand how certain people feel and think." Everyone certainly knows what Rodgers thinks.

The four-time NFL MVP, who previously worked with Hackett during their tenures with the Green Bay Packers, defended his coach during an NFL Network interview over the summer.

"Yeah, I love Nathaniel Hackett, and [Payton's] comments were very surprising, for a coach to do that to another coach," Rodgers said. "...I thought it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he needs to keep my coach's name out of his mouth."

What Have Payton, Hackett Said This Week?

After his comments over the summer, Payton said he would be in contact with Hackett and Saleh to apologize.

Hackett said Thursday that he has not heard from Payton since the incident. When asked whether he thinks Payton regrets his comments, Hackett said, "I don't know. Ask him." Saleh told reporters Wednesday he was going to keep any possible conversations between him and Payton private. Payton was asked in Denver Monday if he had reached out to Hackett since training camp like he said he would, though he declined to answer.

"I already addressed [that]," Payton said.

When asked about his return to Denver, Hackett emphasized that Sunday's game is about the players on the field, noting that the Jets, "Gotta go win a football game." The Broncos host the Jets at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday. The game will air on CBS. Denver enters as a 3.5-point favorite in the battle between 1-3 teams.