Report: Sean Payton's Comments on Hackett Considered 'Masterstroke' by Some Coaches

Sean Payton's comments about Nathaniel Hackett appear to have been part of "a grand strategy, designed to take pressure off the team and put it on himself," according to ESPN's Seth Wickersham.

"He got texts from coaches across sports who considered it a masterstroke," Wickersham added. "But Payton simply has less of a filter these days, even if it later requires damage control."

Payton, who was hired as head coach of the Broncos this offseason following the team's firing of Hackett, unloaded on the former Denver head coach in a July interview with Jarrett Bell of USA Today.

"They can only beat the (expletive) out of you so much," Payton said. "But everybody's got a little stink on their hands. It's not just Russell. It was a (poor) offensive line. It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That's how bad it was.

"Everything I heard about last season, we're doing the opposite."

If Payton's comments were designed to take pressure off the team this offseason, his plan likely worked as much of the talk in Denver surrounded Payton and Hackett.