New Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and a key player from the 2022 roster offered up some scathing critiques this week when giving their thoughts on Nathaniel Hackett’s short-lived time as the team’s head coach.
After stints as the offensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Green Bay Packers, Nathaniel Hackett had developed a reputation as one of the more talented offensive minds in the NFL. It is why he was able to land his first head coaching gig in 2022 and there was a great deal of excitement for the dawn of his era leading the Denver Broncos. Especially when the team made a blockbuster trade for Seattle Seahawks legend Russell Wilson.
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However, it didn’t take long to discover that the 43-year-old was not quite ready to be the head coach of an NFL franchise. Over 15 disastrous games the Broncos went from being an AFC contender to a team at the bottom of the standings and overall NFL stats sheet. The team’s poor play, especially on offense, led to Hackett’s dismissal before the season ended and the start of a second search for a new head coach in as many years.
Sean Payton tears into former Denver Broncos decision-makers
In the offseason, Denver again acted boldly and was able to acquire the rights to retired New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and sign him to a massive long-term deal to help turn around their franchise as he did for the Saints. In changing the culture for the Broncos, Payton has learned a great deal about the drama surrounding his predecessor and Wilson last year, and he spilled a great deal of tea about it in a Thursday conversation with USA Today.
“There’s so much dirt around [the issues between Hackett and Wilson]. 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.”
– Sean Payton
Another big story last season, along with the poor play on offense and the steep decline of Wilson’s championship skills, was the fact that the nine-time Pro Bowler had his own office in the Denver Broncos facility. Something many NFL fans had never heard of and only seemed ridiculous during a horrible 5-12 season. However, Payton doesn’t place blame on the QB for the unique perk and instead fired shots at the team’s management for allowing it.
“That wasn’t his fault,” Payton said. “That was the parents who allowed it. That’s not an incrimination on [Wilson] but an incrimination on the head coach, the GM, the president and everybody else who watched it all happen. Now, a quarterback having an office and a place to watch film is normal,” he continued. “But all those things get magnified when you’re losing. And that other stuff, I’ve never heard of it. We’re not doing that.”
Adding further fuel to the Hackett-era dumpster fire was former running back Melvin Gordon. The eight-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowler appeared on FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams” on Wednesday and gave his thoughts on his time working with the new New York Jets coach.
“My experience with Denver was bad … but I don’t want people to think Hack was a bad coach. Like I said before, It was a lot of great people on the staff. I don’t think they meshed well together and it showed,” Gordon said.
The Denver Broncos fired Hackett with a week left in the season after a 4-12 showing during his debut season as a head coach.