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Robert Saleh didn’t mince his words when responding to critical comments Sean Payton made about the New York Jets and their busy offseason Thursday. Payton, in his first year as Denver Broncos coach, said the Jets made the same mistake the Broncos did last year by “trying to win the offseason.”
Clearly Payton was referencing all the attention the Jets received for acquiring quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wooing free agent running back Dalvin Cook and appearing on Hard Knocks.
When asked about Payton’s harsh comments, Saleh started slowly before warming up to the subject.
“I’m not going to acknowledge Sean,” Saleh stated. “He’s been in the league a while, he can say whatever the hell he wants.”
Here's Robert Saleh's full response about Sean Payton: pic.twitter.com/epmfqkacuB
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) July 27, 2023
But then the Jets coach got on a roll.
“Obviously, we’re doing something right if you have to talk about us when we don’t play (the Broncos) until Week (5),” Saleh said. “I’m good with it. And the guys in our locker room have earned everything that’s coming to them.”
Saleh followed by putting Payton in a group of “haters.”
“I get it, there’s a lot of external noise. There’s a lot of people hating on us,” Saleh explained. “There’s a lot of people looking for us to fail. There’s a lot of crows pecking at our neck. But all you can do is spread your wings and keep flying high until those crows fall off and suffocate from the inability to breathe.”
Payton brought the Jets up without prompting when discussing how the Broncos focused more on winning the 2022 offseason with Russell Wilson than being a winning team last season. He said “I can see it coming” that the Jets are headed down the same path as the Broncos, who finished 5-12 in 2022.
The testiness between the coaches should help make the Jets-Broncos in Week 5 a must-watch game.