Ex-Bronco-turned-Jet says Broncos did Hackett ‘dirty’

The New York Jets are sticking up for Nathaniel Hackett.

And as one former Broncos player says, they’re trying to exact “payback” on the Broncos in the name of Hackett, the ex-Broncos head coach who now serves as the Jets’ offensive coordinator.

“He got thrown under the bus — and then they tried to drag him under the bus,” Jets center Connor McGovern told ESPN.

“We wanted to rally around him from the start. He’s such a good guy. I don’t know how you want to say this — the opportunity he has — but we want to make the most of him being our play-caller.”

McGovern played for the Broncos from 2016-19, starting 36 games at center and right guard. He joined the Jets in 2020 as a free agent.

According to McGovern, Nathaniel Hackett hasn’t mentioned his feelings on the Broncos to his players. But they know.

“That’s not the type of guy he is,” McGovern told ESPN. “He has put his head down to grind. He doesn’t let stuff affect him.

“But that organization did him dirty, and we definitely want to allow him to get some payback.”

Added Jets offensive tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker, “We rally behind Hack, regardless. I think this week there may be a little bigger chip on some of the guys’ shoulders just because the comments that were made before.”

Those comments, of course, involved Payton saying that Hackett’s work as Broncos head coach “might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.” The Broncos went 4-11 before dismissing Hackett last Dec. 26. They are 1-3 this year.

Hackett did not say much regarding the Broncos on Thursday.

“This game is about those guys out on that field,” Hackett said at his press conference with New York-area media. “This game is not about me, it’s about me helping them during the week. I just want the guys to go out there and play a great game.”

His players seem motivated, at least. But without Aaron Rodgers, the Jets remain a team mired near the bottom of most offensive statistics.

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