Aaron Rodgers on Sean Payton: 'He needs to keep my coaches' names out of his mouth'

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Don’t mess with Aaron Rodgers’ friends.

The Jets quarterback is very close with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was Denver’s rookie head coach last season before being fired after a 4-11 start.

Sean Payton replaced him and thoroughly trashed Hackett last week during a USA Today interview, saying, “It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”

Even though Payton later expressed regret about that and other critical comments, Rodgers wasn’t giving him a pass, firing back in an interview Sunday with NFL+.

“It made me feel bad that someone who’s accomplished a lot in the league is that insecure that they have to take another man down to set themselves up for some sort of easy fall if it doesn’t go well for that team this year,” Rodgers said. “I thought it was way out of line, inappropriate and I think he needs to keep my coaches’ names out of his mouth.”

Rodgers added of his OC in Green Bay from 2019-21:  “I love Nathaniel Hackett. Those comments were very surprising, for a coach to do that to another coach . . .

"My love for Hack goes deep. We had some great years together in Green Bay. Kept in touch. He’s an incredible family man, an incredible dad. And on the field, he’s arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL. Just the approach to it. How he makes it fun. How he cares about the guys. Just how he goes about his business, with respect, with leadership, with honesty, with integrity.”