Sean Payton’s “Jets fiasco” dampened, but Nathaniel Hackett’s return still “personal”

Sean Payton already had that feeling as he discussed his first win as Broncos head coach Sunday afternoon that the good vibes wouldn’t last long.

“There will be some tough tape,” he said at one point.

“We’re going to face a lot better teams,” he said at another.

But he did allow a smirk as he encouraged his players to enjoy their first win of the 2023 season, for a few hours at least, before turning their attention to a circled-on-the-calendar Week 5 matchup.

“Then, we get ready to go next week and we can dive into the whole Jets fiasco stuff,” Payton said.

The fiasco, of course, stems from Payton’s explosive comments to USA Today during training camp. He called the 15-game tenure of former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett — now the Jets’ offensive coordinator — ”maybe one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That’s how bad it was.” He suggested the Jets leaned into the Aaron Rodgers hype machine this offseason and could well fall short of expectations. He questioned the way in which the Broncos front office, including general manager George Paton and other he now works with, handled Russell Wilson’s first year in Denver.

So on and so forth.

Then the next day he walked some of it back.

Now Week 5 is actually here. Hackett and the Jets are coming to town Sunday as a 1-3 team trying to find its way after Rodgers, who called Payton’s comments a signal of insecurity, tore his Achilles tendon four plays into his tenure in New York.

Payton wasn’t actually going to dive in Monday, though.

Asked if he had reached out to Hackett or Saleh since July, Payton only said that he addressed that, “the day after” during camp.

He didn’t, really. He expressed remorse for blasting Broncos brass and said Paton and the ownership group were among the reasons he wanted the Denver job in the first place. But regarding any offense taken in New York, Payton said that he’d reach out to Saleh, “at the right time.”

The Jets head coach, though, didn’t seem particularly interested in rehashing the whole order Monday, either.

“From a coach’s perspective, aside from the summer and whatever was said back in training camp, in a football life that’s like 20 years ago,” Saleh told reporters in New York. “So that’s a non-topic.”

What will be a topic, though, is Hackett’s return to Denver. After a 4-11 run as the Broncos’ head coach, Hackett linked up with Saleh and then was reunited with Rodgers, a close friend, before the league-rattling injury on opening night.

Now Hackett’s tasked with helping get 2021’s No. 2 overall pick, Zach Wilson, to a level of play where a stout defense and strong run game aren’t hampered by the game’s most important position.

“For Hackett, obviously it’s going to be a personal feel to go back (to Denver),” Saleh said. “But I think he understands just living it, (being a) coach’s kid and going through this process, he’ll know how to handle himself and he’ll know how to exactly keep his emotions in check and to make sure we do what’s best for this organization and this team as it stands now.

“I fully expect him to be totally fine and level-headed.”

It’s a game full of odd connections in a season full of them for the Broncos. Denver has one former head coach on staff in defensive coordinator Vance Joseph (2017-18). It faced another Week 3 in Miami in Vic Fangio (2019-21). Now it’s Hackett, the most recent.

Not only that, but Hackett was on the other sideline last year when Zach Wilson and the Jets came to town and won, 16-9, despite Wilson finishing 16-of-21 for 121 yards. It was the Broncos’ fourth straight loss and part of a stretch that saw them drop nine of 10.

Each team this year enters the matchup at 1-3 and in need of a win.

For his part, Payton expects a big challenge.

“They’ve obviously gone through an injury at quarterback,” he said. “They’re playing outstanding in the kicking game and on defense. Offensively (Sunday night vs. Kansas City), you saw a much better team in a big moment. They had some brutally tough calls down the stretch. This is a good football team. You can see it on tape. You can see it when you watch them play.

“That’s where our focus will be this week.”

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• 2023
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