Robert Saleh Responds to Sean Payton's Prediction Jets Will Underwhelm: 'Hate Away'

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh didn't take issue with Sean Payton's comments that his team could end up struggling this season despite the addition of Aaron Rodgers.

Saleh told Payton to "hate away" when asked to address what the Denver Broncos coach said about his team.

Speaking to USA Today's Jarrett Bell, Payton drew parallels between how the 2022 Broncos fell on their face after "trying to win the offseason" and what's happening with the Jets going into the start of this season:

"We're not doing any of that. The Jets did that this year. You watch. 'Hard Knocks,' all of it. I can see it coming. Remember when (former Washington owner) Dan Snyder put that Dream Team together? I was at the Giants (in 2000). I was a young coach. I thought, 'How are we going to compete with them? Deion's (Sanders) there now.' That team won eight games or whatever. So, listen…just put the work in."

It's funny to think about now, but the Broncos were arguably the darlings of the NFL last offseason.

Even as several marquee players were being traded, including Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins and A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles, no move generated as much buzz as the Broncos acquiring Russell Wilson.

Denver had the fourth-best Super Bowl odds in the AFC and an over/under win total of 10.5, per Pro Football Reference.

Things immediately started out badly for the Broncos with a poor showing in their Week 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and continued to spiral further down from there.

Head coach Nathaniel Hackett became the butt of many jokes over the course of the season before being fired on Dec. 26, one day after a 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

There is a parallel between Wilson and Rodgers as far as being older quarterbacks potentially past their primes. (Wilson was 33 when he was traded; Rodgers is 39 years old.) Wilson was coming off a down 2021 season with the Seahawks. Rodgers had a disappointing 2022 season with the Green Bay Packers.

Hackett is a coach on the Jets' staff as their offensive coordinator, though at least he has experience in that role from his three seasons with Rodgers and the Packers from 2019 to 2021. He had never been a head coach prior to being hired by Denver.

One key difference between the two situations is Saleh has at least shown the ability to be a competent head coach. He has yet to record a winning season with the Jets, but the franchise hasn't totally imploded with him at the helm the way Denver did last year.

Time will tell if Payton's proclamation ends up being correct, but at the very least it makes the Week 5 matchup between the Jets and Broncos at Empower Field even more intriguing to watch.