Nathaniel Hackett says little about Sean Payton, Broncos

Nathaniel Hackett wanted nothing more Thursday than to not talk about Denver.

The former Broncos head coach was short in his responses regarding both the Broncos and Sean Payton at his press conference Thursday.

Now the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator, Hackett said that Payton did not reach out to him in the wake of explosive comments made by the Broncos’ first-year head coach about the quality of Hackett’s coaching job last year when the Broncos went 4-11.

Nathaniel Hackett has had zero contact with Sean Payton pic.twitter.com/bbQqClhvIa

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 5, 2023

Hackett was a bit more expansive when he discussed the matter during training camp, days after Payton’s comments ran in USA Today.

“You know as a coach’s kid, you know, we live in a glass house, we know that we all live in different rooms, we all got a key for it. And it’s one of those things that there’s a code there’s a way things are done in that house and, you know, this past week it’s frustrating, and it sucks but we’re all susceptible to the things that you do mistakes you make,” Hackett said Aug. 1.

“It’s unfortunate that this had to happen,” he added. “That the comments were made, but hey, they did. I’ll tell you, I was probably more surprised that they happened now. I was definitely expecting him in Week 5. So I’m almost thankful that we got that out of the way … you can always look at that silver lining.”

NATHANIEL HACKETT ISN’T SAYING MUCH ABOUT THE GAME ITSELF, EITHER

When asked about the matchup Thursday, Nathaniel Hackett replied, “Gotta go win a football game.”

A follow-up question arose about how he was treated in Denver, and he replied, “Great.”

Nathaniel Hackett on returning to Denver:

"Gotta go win a football game" pic.twitter.com/6XFFyJ02nv

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 5, 2023

Hackett was a bit more expansive when asked about how football is a “chess game,” although he sounded more like he was quoting a scene from the long-ago Mel Brooks sci-fi parody “Spaceballs” than anything else.

“They know that we know that we know that they know that we all know what we know,” Hackett said.

Nathaniel Hackett talks about the "chess game" that is football:

"They know that we know that we know that they know that we all know what we know" 🤣 pic.twitter.com/UmPgXTfHht

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 5, 2023

Good thing that was cleared up.

Hackett and the Jets offense have largely failed to launch so far this season — although that’s understandable, given that the team lost Aaron Rodgers for the season due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered by the 19-year veteran QB on the initial series of Week 1. The Jets rank T-24th in yards per play, T-25th in scoring and 30th in total offense. They didn’t finally post a 300-yard offensive day as a unit until last Sunday’s 23-20 loss to Kansas City.

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