Aaron Rodgers Isn't Thrilled About Sean Payton's Comments

The fallout from Sean Payton’s criticism of Nathaniel Hackett last week continues. To briefly recap the situation: Payton made some highly critical remarks about his predecessor as Denver Broncos head coach, Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett is now the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator; in the aforementioned comments, Payton had some unflattering things to say about them as well.

Payton has since said that he “needed a bit more restraint” in his comments. For his part, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers — who, it’s worth noting, also worked with Hackett during Hackett’s time as the Green Bay Packers’ offiensive coordinator — took umbrage with Payton’s remarks, as one might expect.

As ESPN reports, Rodgers took particular issue with the idea of one coach being so critical of another coach, stating that he found Payton’s comments “very surprising”.

And while Rodgers’s language was largely diplomatic, in keeping with many of his recent public comments, he also let a hint of anger into the mix. “I think it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he needs to keep my coaches’ names out of his mouth,” Rodgers told NFL+ in an interview.

Circle Jets-Broncos After Denver’s Sean Payton Rips Gang Green

Payton mocked ex-Denver coach Nathaniel Hackett, who now works for New York

We’re still over a month away from the 2023 NFL season beginning. For now, though, Payton’s remarks have given Rodgers and his teammates on the Jets something to rally around. If they do prove Payton’s pessimistic prediction for the upcoming season wrong, Sean Payton himself might be at the root of that.