Nathaniel Hackett Believes Sean Payton Violated ‘Code’ Among Coaches

Sean Payton took a shot at Nathaniel Hackett last week, and the New York Jets quickly came to the defense of their offensive coordinator.

Payton, who is the current head coach of the Denver Broncos, criticized his predecessor for not taking advantage of what he believed to be a talented team. Payton was trying to hype up his team and his players, but Aaron Rodgers was not a fan of the comments, and Robert Saleh seemed eager to prove Payton wrong.

Hackett spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday, and the former Broncos head coach opened his news conference by addressing the controversy.

“… As a coach, as a coach’s kid, we live in a glass house. We know that,” Hackett told reporters, per SNY video. “We all live in different rooms. We all got a key for it. There’s a code and there’s a way things are done in that house. This past week, it’s frustrating and it sucks. We’re all susceptible to it. There are things that you do, mistakes that you make. And it costs you time on the field. It costs you your job, all those things. And I own all that stuff.”

The Broncos and Jets face off in Week 5 at Empower Field at Mile High, and it suddenly became a highly-anticipated matchup because of the public back-and-forth. But Hackett decided to find the silver lining in order to squash the beef in August.

“It’s unfortunate that had to happen, that the comments were made, but hey, they did,” Hackett said. “I was probably more surprised they happened now, was definitely expecting them Week 5. I’m almost thankful we got that out of the way. We all understand where certain people feel and think. …”

Payton infamously is an outspoken head coach, so it would not be a surprise if the controversy gets reignited heading into Week 5, but the sides prepare for the season until then.