A year ago, when it appeared that the Patriots were prepared to entrust their offense to Matt Patricia, we said that if any coach other than Bill Belichick were doing it, the consensus would be that he had lost his damn mind. That same thinking arguably applies to Broncos coach Sean Payton’s gratuitous attack on former Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett. If anyone other than Payton had done it, the consensus would be that the coach has lost his damn mind.
In Payton’s case, the effort to process his strong comments about Hackett (among other things, Payton said Hackett might have done one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL) includes several reporters rushing to justify and defend Payton’s comments.
Look at this collection of tweets from folks who currently cover the Broncos, and from a former Fox coworker. Everything Payton does is deliberate, intentional, not accidental. Jeff Duncan, who covered Payton with the Saints, offered a similar take.
It’s possible that Payton simply had a human moment. That he made a mistake. We all do. And it’s OK for people who cover the team and/or who covered him in the past and/or who worked with him in the past to say, “Wow, Sean might have made a mistake here.”
The truth, folks, is that Sean might have made a mistake here.
The things he said publicly could have been said privately (and presumably have been). What benefit is gained from taking a flamethrower to Hackett? How does that help prop up quarterback Russell Wilson and the rest of the team?
At a minimum, Payton has ensured that the Broncos will have the full focus of the Jets in Week Five, one week after the Jets engage in a Sunday night showdown against the Chiefs. With all the tough games on the New York schedule, the Broncos had been a road apple. Now, that game has been circled by coach Robert Saleh and the rest of the organization. It becomes instantly harder for the Broncos to steal a win from a team that is better than Denver, on paper.
And to the extent that there was true intentionality in the remark, that Payton didn’t believe he was speaking off the record, and that he was actively attempting to pursue and achieve some viable strategic objective, the truth could be that he realizes how empty the cupboard is in Denver, that they won’t be able to compete with the rest of a stacked division and conference, and that he’s setting up the preemptive argument that the hole dug in 2022 was far too deep for even him to dig the franchise out in only one season.
Regardless, it’s OK for people who cover the team, who covered Payton, who know Payton, and/or who worked with Payton to provide a candid and unvarnished assessment regarding his highly unconventional and totally unnecessary public attack on Hackett. If, after all, it’s OK for Payton to suggest that Hackett might have done one of the worst coaching jobs in league history, it’s OK for those who cover the sport to suggest that Payton’s decision to blast Hackett wasn’t nearly as inspired as a surprise onside kick to start the second half of a Super Bowl.
