Sean Payton takes shot at Nathaniel Hackett-era Broncos, vows to do opposite: 'One of the worst coaching jobs'

The Denver Broncos enter the Sean Payton era following an embarrassing 2022 campaign that floundered under former head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

Payton's goal is to recalibrate the franchise that owns three Lombardi Trophies.

"Everything I heard about last season, we're doing the opposite," Payton told Jarrett Bell of USA Today.

Never one to mince words, the Super Bowl-winning coach took direct shots at the previous staff and what they allowed to occur under Hackett's watch, particularly with star quarterback Russell Wilson.

"Oh, man," Payton told Bell. "There's so much dirt around that. 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."

Wilson, the player who was supposed to get the Broncos over the hump, experienced his worst pro season last year, struggling in every aspect. Payton was careful not to lump the disaster all on the QB's shoulders, noting, "He's still got gas in the tank."

Instead, Payton blamed the coaches and team brass -- including current general manager George Paton -- for Wilson's first season in Denver, during which the QB's personal coaches had access to the facility, something Payton has already vowed won't happen under his leadership.

"That wasn't his fault," Payton told Bell of Wilson. "That was the parents who allowed it. That's not an incrimination on him, but an incrimination on the head coach, the GM, the president, and everybody else who watched it all happen."

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