Nathaniel Hackett opens up on reports of Jets trying replace his role in offseason - "We had a lot of conversations"
The New York Jets attract plenty of headlines even at times when nothing is supposed to be happening during the offseason. According to a recent report, the team considered a change at offensive coordinator after the season, with Nathaniel Hackett maintained in the organization but with another person taking up OC duties.
Hackett has been under fire for a long time now. After a less-than-ideal job with the Jaguars as their offensive coordinator, his stock grew in the league due to his job with Aaron Rodgers in the Green Bay Packers. However, after getting a head coach opportunity with the Denver Broncos in 2022, he didn't survive a single season there, and his job as the Jets OC in 223 was also underwhelming.
The coach addressed the rumors after Tuesday's practice, stating that he was part of the conversations and that nothing was done behind his back.
"I don't know what those reports are and I don't know where their sources came from. I know what happened with us. It was great. We had a lot of conversations, got to talk to a lot of different people. It's that simple. It's already been addressed. We had a lot of changes, so we were talking to a lot of people."
Nathaniel Hackett's Jets job was affected with Aaron Rodgers out
The offensive coordinator made a plan for the entire season with one quarterback - and lost him to the year after just four snaps. Plus, the downgrade from Aaron Rodgers to Zach Wilson is so huge that it makes it impossible to say anything positive about the latter - who has been traded to the Denver Broncos.
Hackett has a long history with Aaron Rodgers, and while you can - and should - question his credentials outside of when he had the quarterback at his disposal, it's undeniable that his job wasn't made any easier with Zach Wilson for all the possible reasons: the injury, the plan for the season thrown away or just, you know, Zach Wilson being Zach Wilson.
The Jets have only one goal in 2024: to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010. They need Hackett and Rodgers to produce again.