Sean Payton is now at the helm of the Denver Broncos after a failed season under Nathanial Hackett. The former head coach didn’t make it a full season before being asked to leave the team. The horrible season was augmented by the poor play of Russell Wilson and the rest of the offense. In a recent interview, Payton took a brutal shot at Hackett.
Sean Payton Blasts Former Head Coach Nathanial Hackett
Payton did not hold back. He ripped the job that Hackett did last year in an interview with Jarrett Bell of USA Today.
“Oh, man. There’s so much dirt around that. There’s 20 dirty hands, for what was allowed, tolerated in the fricking training rooms, the meeting rooms. The offense. I don’t know Hackett. A lot of people had dirt on their hands. It wasn’t just Russell. He didn’t just flip. He still has it. This B.S. that he hit a wall? Shoot, they couldn’t get a play in. They were 29th in the league in pre-snap penalties on both sides of the ball.”
“But everybody’s got a little stink on their hands. 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.”
Ouch. The worst coaching job in NFL history. Those are some strong words as there have been some hilariously bad coaching tenures (see Urban Meyer).
Can The Broncos Rebound?
It is hard to see how this season goes worse than last season. Payton is one of the most brilliant offensive coaches in the past decade and was able to construct a top offense around an aging Drew Brees. While the Broncos will not get any help from a tough division with the Chiefs and Chargers, they should be much better this year. For Payton, most of it revolves around simple coaching mistakes that can easily be corrected. If the Broncos can drastically reduce the pre-snap penalties, it will go a long way.
Sean Payton clearly is not a fan of the job Nathanial Hackett did. It probably is hard to find a person that thinks Hackett did a quality job. He is now the playcaller for the Jets. It will be interesting to see if any of the problems in Denver follow him to New York.