Ever since Sean Payton made comments about Nathaniel Hackett back in July, everyone had the Week 5 matchup between the New York Jets and the Denver Broncos circled on their calendar. While the game had more excitement surrounding it before Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury, the Jets are still plenty motivated ahead of Sunday’s contest.
Connor McGovern, the starting center for the Jets, hasn’t forgotten about what was said about Hackett.
“He got thrown under the bus — and then they tried to drag him under the bus,” McGovern told ESPN. “We wanted to rally around him from the start. He’s such a good guy. I don’t know how you want to say this — the opportunity he has — but we want to make the most of him being our play caller.
The drama began when Payton called out Hackett for the coaching job he did during his tenure with the Broncos. Hackett was hired by the Broncos before the 2022 season and he didn’t even coach the entire season, producing a 4-11 record before being fired.
Payton has since walked back his comments about Hackett, but the damage had already been done. Hackett hasn’t spoken about the situation much, though, McGovern said the team wants to send a message for their offensive coordinator.
“That’s not the type of guy he is,” said McGovern, who played with the Broncos from 2016 to 2019. “He has put his head down to grind. He doesn’t let stuff affect him. But that organization did him dirty and we definitely want to allow him to get some payback.”
Many have questioned whether or not Hackett is a talented coach or if he is a product of being someone associated with Rodgers dating back to their time together on the Green Bay Packers. All that being said, it’s clear McGovern and other members of the Jets love playing for their new offensive coordinator.