Nathaniel

Hackett

A longtime ally of Aaron Rodgers, Hackett’s play calling and scheming has once again failed to produce. Rodgers, according to SNY TV’s Connor Hughes, is “on board” with the switch to Downing following a miserable start to the season for New York’s offense. The Jets through Week 5 are 18th in yards per play (4.5), 22nd in first downs, and 24th in EPA per play. They have used pre-snap motion at one of the lowest rates in the NFL. Downing was most recently offensive coordinator for the Titans from 2021 to 2022. In his final season in Tennessee, Downing’s Titans offense ranked 26th in points and 29th in yards.

Ulbrich did say that titles would not change, but this very strongly hints that Nathaniel Hackett may lose his role as playcaller for the Jets. Passing game coordinator Todd Downing would be the most logical playcaller in the room if that were the case, as he was Titans OC in 2021-2022 and Raiders OC in 2017. It wouldn’t exactly be an exciting change, but removing Hackett may be enough to improve the Jets’ prospects on its own.

A third unnamed Jets player said that Hackett “doesn’t take charge,” and that “half the time he tries to put it on Aaron [Rodgers], and Aaron will get frustrated.” While The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported earlier that the Jets aren’t planning on firing Hackett, Hughes says “that [Owner Woody] Johnson has been critical of Hackett in recent weeks.” Robert Saleh may be gone, but the vibes on this offense remain bad.

The Jets shocked the football world on Tuesday morning when they fired head coach Robert Saleh, who was 20-32 over three and a half seasons at the helm. It appears they’ll stick with Hackett — a longtime member of the Aaron Rodgers orbit — for now despite the team’s offensive struggles over the past few weeks. New York has the league’s seventh lowest EPA per play and 11th worst drop back success rate. The Jets run an uncreative offense that uses play action at a low 20 percent rate. It looks like the team will try to grind their way to victory in a deeply inefficient, outdated system devised by Hackett and Rodgers.

As we now know, Smith didn’t take the role, instead landing the offensive coordinator job with the Steelers. ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio later learned that part of the reason Smith didn’t take the job with the Jets was “because the role wasn’t clear.” On the one hand, it’s not surprising to learn that the Jets sought out an assistant for Hackett, whose struggles have been amplified since his one-and-done season as head coach of the Broncos in 2022. Hackett was brought in last season at the request of Aaron Rodgers, who has continuously stuck by the OC due to their previous relationship at Green Bay. Hackett, along with head coach Robert Saleh, both enter this season on the hot seat after any hopes of success in 2023 were dashed by Rodgers’ Achilles injury. Assuming Rodgers is healthy and playing well, Hackett should be fine. However, if things start to go awry, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Saleh turn over play-calling duties to someone else. The Jets’ first training camp practice is scheduled for July 24.

The report suggests that Jets head coach Robert Saleh has lost some faith in Hackett after he failed to adapt the offense following the injury to Aaron Rodgers. Hackett, who is friendly with Rodgers and was reportedly hand-selected to lead the Jets offense, was criticized for his stewardship of the offense and “multiple coaches and players described Hackett as lacking in attention to detail.” Jets star receiver Garrett Wilson also said after the season, “We’ve gotta make adjustments in the game, we’ve gotta do things to counter what we’re getting.” The Jets ranked last in third down conversions, red zone offense and total offensive EPA. They also finished 31st in total yards, 30th in offensive points per game and 30th in passing yards while scoring just 18 offensive touchdowns in 17 games. It makes sense to bring in some new voices.

This means both general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh are safe for at least one more year, barring a surprise change of heart from Johnson. Rapoport added that even offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will return for the 2024 season. The Jets were dealt an unwinnable hand with Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles injury a few snaps into the season, though a better investment at backup quarterback could have helped mitigate the damage. Either way, this didn’t get to see their Rodgers experiment play out and will get their chance to do so in 2024. If the season isn’t a rebounding success, we expect Johnson to clean house and start fresh.

Hackett emerged as an unexpected candidate for the Jets’ offensive coordinator position after a less-than-stellar stay in Denver. The one-and-done head coach went 4-11 as the Broncos head coach, with his team finishing dead last in points per game (16.9) and 12th in yards per game (325.1). Hackett helped lead the Packers to top-10 offensive seasons in his final two years with the team but has had underwhelming stops in Buffalo and Jacksonville. Now, he’ll be tasked with turning around a Jets offense that is loaded with young offensive talent but in desperate need of a quarterback. It’s quite possible the hiring of Hackett will be used to help lure Aaron Rodgers to the Big Apple if he opts to return in 2023.

The Jets fired Mike LaFleur and could replace him with one of the least inspiring hires in recent NFL history. Hackett was fired as Denver’s head coach after the team started 3-8 with one of the league’s least productive, most uncreative offense schemes. Though Hackett had some success with Blake Bortles as the Jaguars OC in 2017, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be the guy to revive Zach Wilson’s fledgling career. There’s always the possibility, however slim, that Hackett will be used as bait for Aaron Rodgers, just as he was when the Broncos hired him last winter.

Hackett’s tenure with the Broncos last longer than most expected after the team went into December with a 3-8 record and an offense that was one of the worst in the league. If being one of the first teams in the league to be officially eliminated from playoff contention wasn’t embarrassing enough, Hackett’s Broncos were dismantled 51-14 on Christmas day by a Rams team that featured several reserves on both sides of the ball and forced three interceptions of $245 million quarterback Russell Wilson. After leading two top-10 scoring seasons in Green Bay, the former Packers offensive coordinator leaves a Broncos team that’s currently ranked 32nd in points per game (15.5) and 26th in offensive yards per game (316.6).