Broncos not only team regretting hiring Nathaniel Hackett, as Jets have buyer's remorse

In their attempt to lure quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the Meadowlands, the New York Jets began to stockpile their team with some of Rodgers' favorite coaches and players in 2023.

One of the coaches happened to be former offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who Rodgers developed a close bond with during their time together with the Green Bay Packers. Hackett, who served as Green Bay's offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021, helped Rodgers earn back-to-back NFL Most Valuable Player honors in two of his three seasons with the team.

Hackett was hired as head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2022. With new ownership and coaching, Denver had mile-high expectations for their season. After Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford both joined new teams and won Super Bowls in each of the past two seasons, Denver made a blockbuster trade for quarterback Russell Wilson and attempted to produce similar results. Instead, the 2022 campaign was an unmitigated disaster for Denver. Hackett was fired after a 4-11 start to the season.

The Jets were hoping that Hackett and Rodgers could recreate some of the success they found together in Green Bay. Instead, Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury after just four snaps, and Hackett was left to run an offense with quarterback Zach Wilson at the helm.

The Jets may have already lost faith in OC Nathaniel Hackett

Apparently, one season with Hackett was enough for New York's brain trust to realize that he can't be trusted to run the offense, even with Rodgers at quarterback. The Jets attempted to hire someone to manage the offense for Hackett this offseason, according to SNY reporter Conner Hughes.

"The Jets made legitimate attempts this offseason to hire someone who would, essentially, replace Hackett," Hughes wrote. "Not as a new offensive coordinator, but a title above who would run the show. The Jets had enough things they needed to address this offseason without replacing areas they’re content with. That pursuit tells me, internally, there are legitimate concerns with Hackett’s ability to successfully run things."

The Jets appear to have a well-rounded offensive attack for the 2024 season. New York attempted to address the offensive line concerns by bringing in players such as Tyron Smith and Olu Fashanu through free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft. They also added wide receiver Mike Williams to compliment superstar wideout Garrett Wilson. There are two things that usually ruin units this talented: injuries and poor coaching.

"Sources spoke of many, many times last summer where Hackett called a play, then Rodgers changed it completely at the line," Hughes added. "They figure he can do the same come the regular season."

Making the quarterback's job more complicated is typically not a good sign for an offensive coordinator, even if that quarterback happens to be Rodgers.

It's not the first time Hackett's coaching ability has been called into question. During his time in Denver, the Broncos hired assistant coach Jerry Rosburg to manage in-game decisions after Hackett's poor decision-making ability continued to hurt the team. Sean Payton, who was hired as head coach of the Broncos in 2023, said Hackett's work with the 2022 Broncos was "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL."

After one season, it appears the Jets have soured on Hackett and tried, and failed, to replace the assistant coach.