McGovern - Jets want to get Hackett 'payback' against Broncos - ESPN

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Trashed two months ago by Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton, New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett finally gets his chance for revenge on Sunday. If you believe Hackett, it's not even on his mind.

A tight-lipped Hackett downplayed the long-anticipated showdown, choosing Thursday to give only cursory responses to questions about Payton and his return trip to Denver. The feeling among Hackett's players, though, is different.

Center Connor McGovern believes Hackett was unfairly criticized by Payton, who told USA Today in late July that Hackett's 15-game tenure last season was «one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.» McGovern said they'd love for Hackett to get «payback» at Empower Field, where the two 1-3 teams meet.

«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.

»He's a phenomenal coach, crazy smart, and he makes meetings really fun and easy to learn. 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."

Hackett didn't make it through one full season with the Broncos, who fired him with a 4-11 record. They finished last in scoring, as quarterback Russell Wilson produced a career low QBR (38.8). Payton said there were «20 dirty hands» around Wilson, suggesting Hackett and his staff were responsible for his dropoff. Payton also