Sean Payton gets bashed by NFL fans for 'disrespecting' Nathaniel Hackett - “Hackett didn't oversee a bounty program”

Sean Payton recently came out of a one-year retirement to coach again. The only difference is that he won't be coaching the New Orleans Saints this time around after being traded to the Denver Broncos. Their former head coach Nathaniel Hackett lasted less than one full season in the position, so Payton should bring stability.

In an uncharacteristic move, Payton trashed Hackett in an interview, insulting his effort last year. He even stated that he thinks Hackett did "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL" during his stint with the Denver Broncos.

While Payton's record as a head coach is clearly superior to Hackett's, including winning a Super Bowl ring with the Saints, his comments rubbed many NFL fans the wrong way.

Some of them went on Reddit to fire back at Payton, calling him out for some of his controversial coaching situations in the past. Here are some of the top comments about the situation:

Many fans pointed out the infamous Bountygate scandal that Payton was involved with during his time with the Saints. He was found guilty of being a part of a scheme that was paying defensive players bonuses for causing injuries to the opposing offense.

Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season. Other coaches and staff members were penalized as well, while former players Jonathan Vilma, Scott Fujita, Will Smith, and Anthony Hargrove were also suspended.

Fans defending Nathaniel Hackett threw Bountygate back at Sean Payton, while also criticizing his character. While many fans believed what Payton said about Hackett had some truth to it, others felt it was unnecessary to attack him.

In the end, Payton was likely just defending his own players, such as Russell Wilson, instead of blaming Hackett for the failures, but he probably did so a bit too aggressively.

What did Sean Payton say about Nathaniel Hackett?

Sean Payton

Sean Payton fired several shots at Nathaniel Hackett during a recent interview with USA Today, criticizing his one season with the Denver Broncos.

Here are some of the highlights:

“It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That’s how bad it was. There’s 20 dirty hands, for what was allowed, tolerated in the fricking training rooms, the meeting rooms.

"Shoot, they couldn’t get a play in. They were 29th in the league in pre-snap penalties on both sides of the ball. Everything I heard about last season, we’re doing the opposite.”

Payton is surely putting additional pressure on himself to have a successful 2023 NFL season, as well as for the Denver Broncos' Week 5 face-off with the New York Jets.

Nathaniel Hackett is now the Jets' offensive coordinator, reuniting with Aaron Rodgers. While Hackett has yet to respond to Payton's harsh comments, this apparent feud can be settled on the field.