Connor McGovern: Jets to avenge Nathaniel Hackett vs. Broncos' Sean Payton

New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett did all he could Thursday to dance around controversial comments Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton made about Hackett this past offseason. 

Jets center Connor McGovern took a different approach as 1-3 New York prepares to play at the 1-3 Broncos this coming Sunday afternoon. 

"He got thrown under the bus — and then they tried to drag him under the bus," McGovern said about Hackett while speaking with Rich Cimini of 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." 

Payton surprisingly blasted Hackett over the summer and said his predecessor with the Broncos was responsible for what "might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL" last season. Hackett originally accepted the Denver job in January 2022 but was fired in late December when the team was 4-11. 

While Payton later expressed regret regarding his original comments, McGovern left no doubt Hackett's players haven't forgotten what was said. 

"He's a phenomenal coach, crazy smart, and he makes meetings really fun and easy to learn," McGovern continued while speaking about Hackett. "So, he's definitely a guy that you want to play hard for. Then to go to a place that was dogging a guy that's so nice and so good at his job, and for him to get thrown under the bus and dragged through the mud, you definitely want to play that much harder."

Things didn't go as planned for either the Jets or Broncos over the campaign's first month. Hackett and company lost first-choice quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a torn Achilles early into the regular-season opener and then dropped the following three games. Payton's first victory of his Denver tenure came this past Sunday at the winless Chicago Bears. 

Both McGovern and Hackett said Thursday the coordinator isn't mentioning the Payton situation during midweek meetings. It seems Jets players need no additional rallying cry ahead of the Week 5 contest. 

"...That organization did him dirty, and we definitely want to allow him to get some payback," McGovern explained.