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There was a fair amount of optimism surrounding the Denver Broncos heading into the 2022 NFL season thanks in no small part to the acquisition of Russell Wilson, who was making his debut with the team along with first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
However, it didn’t take long for things to go off the rails.
Wilson looked like he’d touched a football that had been cursed by the aliens from Space Jam based on how he struggled over the course of the season, and Hackett wasted no time drawing the ire of fans with a very questionable decision in Week 1 that set the tone for what would turn out to be a truly abysmal season.
Hackett didn’t even manage to make it to the end of that campaign, as he was fired shortly after Christmas and replaced by interim coach Jerry Rosburg. However, he wasn’t at the helm for very long, as Denver managed to lure Sean Payton out of retirement and hire a man who made it very clear some major changes were in store.
Only time will tell what the future holds for the team this season, but Payton seems to be very confident they’ll be able to turn things around based on what he had to say during a recent interview with USA Today.
The head coach has never really been known for biting his tongue, and that piece was certainly no exception.
While he admitted there were plenty of people who could be blamed for what unfolded in 2022, he didn’t mince words while discussing Hackett’s role in the debacle, saying:
“Everybody’s got a little stink on their hands. It’s not just Russell. It was a [poor] offensive line. It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That’s how bad it was.”
Dang, Sean. Tell us how you really feel.