Aaron Rodgers Calls Out Sean Payton for Criticizing Jets Coach: ‘Keep My Coach’s Name Out of His Mouth’

Rodgers came to the defense of Jets' offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett after Payton blamed him for a poor 2022 season

When he's a Jet, he's a Jet all the way.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will soon play his first season with the New York Jets, defended the team's new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett after comments made by Denver Broncos' coach Sean Payton.

Payton, 59, who replaced Hackett as the Broncos' head coach this season, blamed the team's disappointing 2022 season on Hackett's poor coaching and assured fans and media that this season would be different.

“It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL,” Payton told USA Today. “That’s how bad it was. It doesn’t happen often where an NFL team or organization gets embarrassed, and that happened here. Part of it was their own fault, relative to spending so much f---ing time trying to win the offseason — the P.R., the pomp and circumstance, marching people around and all this stuff.”

Related: Aaron Rodgers Reportedly Agrees to $35 Million Pay Cut to Play for New York Jets

Following Payton's comments about Hackett, Rodgers came to the veteran coach's defense, whom he played for in Green Bay from 2019 to 2021.

"I love Nathaniel Hackett and those comments were very surprising," Rodgers said, calling Payton's comments "way out of line and inappropriate" during an appearance on NFL+.

Rodgers added that Hackett is "arguably my favorite coach I've had in the NFL," after their mutual years in Green Bay.

"I think he needs to keep my coach's name out of his mouth," Rodgers continued, specifically slamming "insecure" Payton for "a coach to do that to another coach."

Rodgers was traded to the Jets in late April after playing 14 seasons with the Packers.

The QB agreed to a two-year, $75 million guaranteed contract with the team, which runs through the 2024 season, NFL Network and ESPN reported.

However, it’s $35 million less than he would've made if he had stayed with the Green Bay Packers and finished out his 4-year deal, which had $110 million remaining in the contract.

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Rodgers addressed last week why he agreed to the restructured contract.

"The team gave up significant pieces for it to be just a one-year deal," he said. "I'm aware of that. Anything could happen with my body or the success we have this year, but I'm having a blast, so I really don't see this as a one-year-and-done thing."

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