[ad_1] Aaron Rodgers continued sticking by his offensive coordinator and shading Sean Payton on Monday, one day after the Jets quarterback criti
[ad_1]
Aaron Rodgers continued sticking by his offensive coordinator and shading Sean Payton on Monday, one day after the Jets quarterback criticized the Broncos head coach on Sunday over comments Payton made about his predecessor Nathaniel Hackett. Rodgers and Hackett are reunited in New York, where Hackett is now the Jets’ offensive coordinator.
“I still got a lot more to say, [but] I don’t need to,” Rodgers told FanDuel TV. “I stand by everything that I said. There is a way of handling things, and probably a way not to. Sometimes you say something really stupid, it warrants an apology, and sometimes you don’t apologize. Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. Sean’s entitled to his opinion, I’m entitled to mine. There’s more to say for a different time.”
Payton told USA Today for a story published Thursday that Hackett’s 15-game stint as head coach of the Broncos last season “was one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.″
Payton also said there were “20 dirty hands” around nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson’s career-worst season in his first year on the Broncos, and took some shots at the Jets — Hackett’s new team, where he and Rodgers are reunited after enjoying success together on the Green Bay Packers.
“It made me feel bad that someone who has accomplished a lot in the league is that insecure that they have to take another man down to set themselves up for some sort of easy fall if it doesn’t go well for that team this year,” Rodgers told NFL Network on Sunday. “I think it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he needs to keep my coaches’ names out of his mouth.”
[McKenna: Can young Jets deal with Aaron Rodgers’ propensity for the spotlight?]
Rodgers, acquired by New York in April from Green Bay, said Hackett is “arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL.” The pair was together for two of Rodgers’ four NFL MVP awards in 2020 and 2021 with the Packers.
During the interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, Payton also criticized the Jets for being the latest NFL team “trying to win the offseason” — something he said the Broncos under Hackett tried to do and were “embarrassed.”
Jets coach Robert Saleh said Thursday “Hackett’s doing a phenomenal job here” when asked about Payton’s comments. He also said the Jets are just focused on themselves, but recognizes “there’s a lot of people that are hatin’ on us and a lot of people looking for us to fail.”
Payton on Friday said he regretted his comments in which he disparaged Hackett, and said he would reach out to Hackett and Saleh “at the right time” to do so.
When Rodgers was asked on Monday whether he himself had heard from Payton, Rodgers said he had not.
[FOX Sports Insider: The Sean Payton-Nathaniel Hackett beef is exactly the drama the NFL needs]
Rodgers told NFL Network on Sunday he thought Payton’s initial comments “were very surprising, for a coach to do that to another coach.”
Aaron Rodgers says Sean Payton ‘needs to keep my coaches’ names out of his mouth’, Colin Cowherd loves the beef
Meanwhile, the back-and-forth made the Jets’ matchup in Denver in Week 5 on Oct. 8 a bit juicier. Payton acknowledged Friday his comments “certainly will bring more interest to the game when we play them, but that seems like years from now.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Aaron Rodgers
Denver Broncos
New York Jets
Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
[ad_2]
Source link
COMMENTS