Sean Payton has absolutely unloaded on the previous Broncos regime in an interview with Jarrett Bell at USA TODAY Sports, calling Nathaniel Hackett’s run as Denver’s head coach the worst coaching job in history. Payton also fired shots at the Jets for what he perceives as offseason preening similar to the Broncos’ before their collapse last year.
When it came to Russell Wilson and what went wrong last season, Payton spread the blame around. While he includes Wilson among those being at fault, he also insists that No. 3 still has it.
“There’s 20 dirty hands, for what was allowed, tolerated in the fricking training rooms, the meeting rooms. The offense. I don’t know Hackett. A lot of people had dirt on their hands. It wasn’t just Russell. He didn’t just flip. He still has it. This B.S. that he hit a wall? Shoot, they couldn’t get a play in. They were 29th in the league in pre-snap penalties on both sides of the ball.”
Most of Payton’s judgment seemed reserved for Hackett and his staff for allowing the rumored behind-the-scenes shenanigans that portray Wilson as getting favorable treatment from the front office, resulting in friction with coaches and teammates. Whatever happened, Payton is now deliberately going in the opposite direction.
“Everything I heard about last season, we’re doing the opposite…”
Among the changes Payton made when he took over was banning Wilson’s personal quarterbacks coach Jake Heaps from the team facility.
You can find the full interview here.
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