Nathaniel Hackett will remain as the New York Jets offensive coordinator in 2024, but things will be different next season.
Team and league sources revealed to The Athletic that head coach Robert Saleh “has explored adding to the offensive staff and creating a more collaborative play-calling process that would reduce Hackett’s role, a clear indication the team has lost confidence in his ability to run the offense on his own. [Aaron] Rodgers has been involved in those discussions.”
So far the only new moves the Jets have made is swapping out a few positional coaches. Taylor Embree left and was replaced by Tony Dews as the new running backs coach. Zach Azzanni was also swapped out for Shawn Jefferson as wide receivers coach.
Offensive Players Express Frustration About Hackett’s Jets Offense
Several Jets offensive players expressed to The Athletic that Rodgers’ “hand-picked” coach, Hackett, “failed to adjust” after losing QB1 “and didn’t put them in positions to succeed.”
“It’s just such a f—ing mess,” one Jets coach told Zack Rosenblatt. “Something has to change.”
Hackett deserves credit for helping to lure Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers to New York. In his introductory press conference with the Jets media, A-Rod credited Hackett for being a big reason that he is here in the first place.
In that same vein, Hackett deserves a lot of the blame for how he handled things pre-dating the Rodgers injury. According to an anonymous coach via The Athletic, he had never seen a team “watch less practice tape in training camp than the Jets did with Hackett.”
That apparent lack of attention to detail bled into the season as well.
“For most of the season, Hackett would meet with offensive line coach/running game coordinator Keith Carter and passing game coordinator Todd Downing during the week but wouldn’t get together with the rest of the offensive staff until the ‘last minute’ of game prep,” Rosenblatt explained.
In the Week 2 road matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, the Jets put offensive tackle Duane Brown on an island with pass rusher Micah Parsons.
Offensive line coach Keith Carter asked Hackett if they could give Brown some additional help with blocking Parsons, but he refused and “never adjusted”, per Rosenblatt.
The Jets ended up getting blown out 30-10 and Parsons dominated with a pair of sacks and four quarterback hits.
Jets Returned to Work After an Extended Break
Head coach Robert Saleh and his staff returned to work on Monday, February 5 after “an extended break” from the end of the season, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.
None of the key decision-makers are scheduled to speak with the media until the NFL combine in Indianapolis at the end of February.
Although this report from The Athletic is likely going to be a large talking point at that media scrum. It’s unclear at this point which additional coaching members the Jets could add to the offensive room to provide that collaborative approach the team is seeking.
However, it is a positive sign that Saleh and the team read the room regarding Hackett’s ineffectiveness and are seeking to mitigate it in some way in 2024.
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Jets Plan on Reducing Nathaniel Hackett’s Role: Report