The Green Bay Packers have dealt with plenty of turnover this offseason, and now, they are looking to put it all together for the start of the 2025 season. The reason for that is so they can return to the playoffs and make a lengthier run to the Super Bowl.
At training camp, Packers fans may have seen a figure standing around the sidelines. A coach that fans may not have such great memories of.
ESPN's Rob Demovsky reports that the Packers re-hired former offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to a consultant/analyst role. Instead of coaching the offense, head coach Matt LaFleur says that Hackett will coach the defense.
Packers re-hire Nathaniel Hackett for new role on coaching staff
This is a similar role that Robert Saleh had last season after being fired as head coach of the New York Jets. Saleh was an analyst for the offense to give his perspective from a defensive perspective. For Hackett, he will provide an offensive perspective to the defense.
Hackett joined the Packers in 2019 as offensive coordinator, where he received countless praise from quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Here is how Green Bay's offense ranked with Hackett in charge for his three years with the team.
Year | Total Yards per Game (Ranking) | Points Per Game (Ranking) |
|---|---|---|
2019 | 345.5 (18th) | 23.5 (15th) |
2020 | 389.0 (5th) | 31.8 (1st) |
2021 | 365.6 (10th) | 26.5 (9th) |
The numbers were good, but credit can be given to the play of Rodgers, who won NFL MVP in 2020 and 2021. Once Hackett left Green Bay, his stock fell...hard.
In 2022, Hackett was hired to be the new head coach of the Denver Broncos. The hope was that Hackett could bring his success on offense to Denver with Russell Wilson as quarterback. Hackett didn't even finish the entire season with the Broncos, as he was fired after 15 games. The offense was notably bad and Hackett struggled with clock management to the point where Broncos fans had to count down the play clock.
After his firing, Hackett found his way onto the New York Jets as offensive coordinator to reunite with Rodgers. The duo only had four plays together in 2023 before Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon. Hackett then coached the likes of Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian, and Tim Boyle at quarterback. For that season, the Jets averaged just 268.6 yards (31st in NFL) and 15.8 points (29th). Then, during the 2024 season, Hackett was demoted after Saleh's firing and with Jeff Ulbrich taking over as interim head coach.
Now, Hackett returns to where he found success as an assistant coach. The thing is, he now carries two disastrous coaching tenures with him.