Everyone could use a guardian angel at some point in their life.
Aaron Rodgers is Nate Hackett’s guardian angel.
Hackett was hired as the Jets’ offensive coordinator thanks to Rodgers.
And Rodgers’ presence has kept Hackett in the fold as offensive coordinator, even though Hackett led a miserable, dysfunctional offense last season without Rodgers, who ruptured his left Achilles tendon four plays into the season.
Hired at a time when the Jets were courting Rodgers as their quarterback and savior, Hackett was one of many recruiting tools used by Jets owner Woody Johnson (including a jar of honey from Queen Elizabeth’s garden).
With Rodgers out for the season, Hackett’s potential was put to the test, and his first season with the Jets was lackluster, to say the least.
The Jets finished 31st in the league in points per possession (1.13) and 32nd in yards per possession (21.8). They were 29th in points, averaging just 15.8 points per game.
In fairness, when Rodgers got injured, all Hackett had were Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Simian, none of whom could be starting quarterbacks in the NFL, so the blame falls on GM Joe Douglas and his personnel staff for drafting the wrong players and leaving the depth base empty.
“Losing a great player like that is tough, not just for me but for the whole team,” Hackett said Wednesday before the Jets left for a practice against the North Carolina Panthers ahead of Saturday’s preseason game. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to keep moving forward. Whatever happens, we’ve got to be ready to go.”
The problem was that in Rodgers’ absence, the Jets’ offense was at the mercy of opposing defenses, leading to harsh criticism of Hackett.
Rodgers has been vocal in his support of Hackett and has rejected harsh criticism of the coach, perhaps the worst of which came from Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who last summer called Hackett’s 2022 role in Denver “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”
“I felt very protective of him,” Rodgers said this week. “Thankfully a lot of that is behind us for both of us, but it’s been a tough few years with some issues. [Payton] “The things that were said about him were pretty harsh criticisms about the offense struggling. I think he took it pretty well and held up well, but he’s looking to show something this year.”
Head coach Robert Saleh interviewed several offensive coaches to add to his staff during the offseason, which didn’t help the controversial Hackett, but Saleh maintains that this was not done to remove Hackett from his role as play-caller, but to add a third offensive voice alongside Hackett and quarterbacks coach Todd Downing. Saleh suggested the reason he didn’t hire anyone was because the people he interviewed were looking for the coordinator title.
When asked this week if Hackett’s role on offense has changed this season, Saleh said, “It’s the same. He’s still our play-caller. He’s still directing the offense. He’s still in complete control.”
Whether that translates into a positive outcome for the Jets in 2024 will be up for debate until results are seen.
“All of us, including me, [Hackett]”All of us, including the players, learned a lot from last year,” Saleh said, “and because of that, I think we’re better prepared to hit the curveball this year than we were last year.”
In fact, when Rodgers went down, the Jets were thrown a Sandy Koufax-like curveball, and leadoff hitter Hackett swung and missed.
“Everything is a learning experience,” Hackett said. “I learned a lot from last year and I’m going to take that and put it to good use this year.”
If the Jets win and perform well offensively, perhaps many will forget about Hackett’s past mistakes, but it’s clear that the bond between Hackett and Rodgers will never be broken, win or lose.
“We speak the same language, the West Coast language … we’ve grown up in the system together in a way,” Rogers said.
“There’s a certain type of person that’s attracted to this profession,” Hackett said. “We have a lot of people with the same interests. [come] From the roots of crime we both grew up in. For him, [former Green Bay] Coach Mike McCarthy was with my dad. [Paul]so we have the background to this old attack.
“Off the field, I have a lot of respect for him. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. We’re very lucky to have people like that and it’s something I’ll cherish forever.”
