Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin dishes on the drama between the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers, and Sean Payton
Last week, New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was blindsided by criticism from Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who called Hackett’s coaching job with the Broncos “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL”. Hackett was the Broncos’ head coach last season, and the team fell far short of expectations by going 5-12 with Russell Wilson at quarterback.
The Jets’ OC – and quarterback Aaron Rodgers – have since responded to Payton’s comments.
Nathaniel Hackett responds to Sean Payton's comments:
"There's a code and there's a way things are done in that house. This past week, it's frustrating and it sucks. We're all susceptible to it." pic.twitter.com/aYvMM4HtoB
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) August 1, 2023
Other coaches around the league have taken notice as well.
NBC’s Peter King shared something that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told him about the beef between the Jets and Payton’s Broncos.
King said, “Mike Tomlin actually said something funny to me [when discussing the Jets-Payton situation], he goes, ‘Man, all I know is that I hope that game – the Denver-Jets game – is on national TV. Maybe at a time where everybody can watch it, because I want to watch that football game.”
Unfortunately for Tomlin, the game is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET. But Week 5 is the earliest that Sunday games can be flexed, so there is a possibility it could be moved. The only problem is that the Sunday night game currently scheduled for that week is Cowboys-49ers, which seems unlikely to be moved. Tomlin’s Steelers will play at 1 p.m. ET that day against the Baltimore Ravens.
This isn’t the first time this offseason Pittsburgh’s head coach has acknowledged another head coach slighting the Jets.
During the NFL draft, the New England Patriots traded the 14th overall pick to the Steelers for the No. 17 and No. 120 selections. The trade allowed the Steelers to leap-frog the Jets and draft offensive tackle Broderick Jones. At the time, Jones was considered to have a high likelihood of being selected by the Jets if he made it to their pick, considering New York’s need for help at the OT position.
It seemed like a spiteful move by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who has a known dislike for the Jets. Tomlin, who spoke to Rich Eisen about the trade, didn’t quell the fire on that speculation.
“I’m not gonna delve into the relationship between New England and the Jets. Let’s just say I’m glad we found a partner,” said Tomlin referencing the draft day trade. “I’ll put it this way, there wasn’t a lot of hesitation on New England’s end.”
Meanwhile, King had his own thoughts on Payton’s outburst.
“I mean, it was way over the top. I couldn’t believe it,” said the 66-year-old King. “There’s no purpose served to do that, in my opinion. I think that once the genie was out of the bottle, Sean and I’m sure the Broncos’ excellent PR guy, Patrick Smyth, realized you gotta do something about this – and he did and he tried to.”
The Jets will play Payton and the Broncos at Mile High on October 8.
