Sean Payton went scorched earth on last year's Broncos, but why?

Sean Payton brutally ripping the job Nathaniel Hackett did with the 2022 Denver Broncos was the headline from an explosive USA Today story.

Buried elsewhere was Payton ripping the current team president and general manager of the Broncos for the preferential treatment given to quarterback Russell Wilson.

“That wasn’t [Wilson's] fault,” Payton told USA Today. “That was the parents who allowed it. That’s not an incrimination on him, but an incrimination on the head coach, the GM [George Paton], the president [Damani Leech] and everybody else who watched it all happen."

Payton has been an NFL head coach for 15 seasons and an assistant before that. He's a smart man. When he started going off to longtime USA Today reporter Jarrett Bell, it wasn't random. Everyone knows Payton slammed the 2022 Broncos for some reason, though it's not like he'd exactly share why he blasted Hackett and others to a national reporter. That would defeat the purpose.

So what was the reason?

Sean Payton takes on the pressure

If you hear New York Jets offensive tackle Billy Turner tell it, Payton is worried. Hackett is the new offensive coordinator with the Jets, and Turner was backing his coach after Payton said, "It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That’s how bad it was."

"Seems like someone Started training Camp and is trying to soften the blow after realizing what he's in for this season," Turner said in an Instagram post. "F***ing Bum. #BountyGate #Childish"

Jets coach Robert Saleh shot back too, saying, "If you ain't got no haters, you ain't popping. So hate away."

While respecting Turner sticking up for his coach, his explanation probably isn't right.

When Payton ripped the 2022 Broncos' coaching staff, practically relieving all the players of any responsibility, Payton put more pressure on himself for this season. If all of the problems fell on last season's coaching staff — "20 dirty hands," as Payton described it — then who is to blame if the Broncos lose double-digit games again? That would be this year's coach. If Payton was that worried about the team he's taking on, his message wouldn't be to put all of last season's failures on others.

Payton doesn't mind the pressure. He has a great track record and an ego that will be unbothered by more attention on him if things don't turn around. Again, Payton knew exactly what he was doing when Bell turned on his recorder.

There are a few better explanations for Payton's message, but one seems obvious.

Payton sticks up for Russell Wilson

By Payton taking shots at the team's president, general manager and even the team doing too many interviews ("Spending so much [expletive] time trying to win the offseason," Payton said), the Broncos' new coach was marking his territory. He was making it clear he's running the show.

But presumably more central to the message was giving the players, and Wilson in particular, a fresh start.

Payton just gave the players a reason to move on completely from last season. If Hackett did one of the "worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL," and he's gone, then the players won't be burdened by what happened. The reason for the failure is gone, if you buy Payton's explanation. The same team that looked pretty good on paper last offseason remains, and with some improvements through free agency.

The message to Wilson was much more direct. Wilson made nine Pro Bowls in 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. Then he looked completely lost last season. The Broncos need Wilson to turn it back around, or it will be a multi-year problem given his contract and the draft capital lost to get him.

You want an answer to what Payton thinks of the oft-asked question: "Can Sean Payton fix Russell Wilson?" Well, here's Payton's take on it.

"It wasn’t just Russell. He didn’t just flip. He still has it," Payton told USA Today. "This B.S. that he hit a wall? Shoot, they couldn’t get a play in."

You have to imagine that words like that will resonate with Wilson, who probably needed a bit of a confidence boost after he was criticized mercilessly during a horrendous 2022 season.

You won't see a coach rip another coach very often. Payton blaming some people still in the Broncos' building was probably even more rare. But there was a reason for the incendiary quotes.

Now Payton gets to see how his team responds. That was probably the point.