Broncos' Sean Payton Says Criticism of Nathaniel Hackett, Jets, More Was 'A Mistake'

Sean Payton is walking back his criticism of Nathaniel Hackett and the New York Jets.

"I had one of my moments where I had my Fox hat on, and not my coaching hat," Payton, who worked as a Fox Sports analyst in 2022, said, via Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. "It was a mistake by me. I said what I said, but I needed to have some restraint."

Payton criticized Hackett earlier this week, saying the former Broncos head coach may have put together "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL" last season before he was fired by the team following a 4-11 start.

Payton also took a shot at the New York Jets, where Hackett is now the offensive coordinator, criticizing the team's approach to a big offseason in which they acquired four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, among numerous others:

"It doesn't happen often where an NFL team or organization gets embarrassed. And that happened here. Part of it was their own fault, relative to spending so much (expletive) time trying to win the offseason – the PR, the pomp and circumstance, marching people around and all this stuff."

"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."

Jets head coach Robert Saleh quickly responded to Payton, telling reporters Thursday that he was "not going to acknowledge Sean," adding that "he can say whatever the hell he wants."

Saleh added:

"As far as what we have going on here, I kind of live by the saying, 'If you ain't got no haters, you ain't popping.' So hate away."

"Obviously, we're doing something right if you've got to talk about us when we don't play you until [Week 5]. And I'm good with it, but the guys in our locker room, they've earned everything that's coming to them. I'm really excited about what's going on. I think Hackett is doing a phenomenal job here and the coaching staff is doing a phenomenal job. We're focused on us. I get it. There's a lot of external noise. There's a lot of people hating on us. There's a lot of people looking for us to fail. There's a lot of crows pecking at our neck. All you can do is spread your wings and keep flying high until those crows fall off and suffocate from the inability to breathe."

Payton seemingly apologized to Saleh for his remarks on Friday, saying that he respects what the head coach has built in New York.

"I think the world of Robert. I know him. I don't know Nathaniel. But at the right time. It certainly will bring more interest in the game when we play them, but that seems like years from now. But I'll handle it the right way," Payton said, per ProFootballTalk's Michael David Smith.

The Broncos, which are expected to have a bounce back season under Payton, will host the new-look Jets on Oct. 8 for a Week 5 matchup. Given all the drama that Payton has caused between the two sides over the last week, fans could be in for a feisty matchup.