The Devils introduced their new head coach on Tuesday, the 22nd in franchise history.
As I began thinking about Nathaniel Hackett this week, it seemed fitting. I’ve compared the security of my job as the Jets’ offensive coordinator in the past to being the head coach of the Devils or the drummer for Spinal Tap.
Change is constantly happening at these positions. The Jets’ offensive coordinator Spontaneous combustion Not yet, but give it time.
Hackett is in his second year as the Jets’ offensive coordinator and is a veteran at the position — the last Jets offensive coordinator to complete his second year was Brian Schottheimer, who held the job from 2006-2011.
Since Schottheimer, Tony Sparano served one year, Marty Mornhinweg served two years, Chan Gailey served two years, John Morton and Jeremy Bates served one year each, Dowell Loggains served two years, and Mike LaFleur was fired after two years and replaced by Hackett.
Decorating your office is not a good idea.
So, can Hackett buck the trend and make it to his third season in 2025?
Some would argue that Hackett is the biggest question mark for the Jets this season.
The hope is that Aaron Rodgers will be able to regain his former form when healthy, Joe Douglas has added new pieces to the offensive line and wide receiver corps through free agency and the draft, and the defense will be expected to maintain the high level it has shown the past two seasons.
But what about Hackett?
Hackett will lead a Jets offense that finished 29th in the NFL in 2023 with 15.8 points per game. The year before, he was head coach of the Broncos, who finished 32nd in the NFL with 16.9 points per game.
Of course, these struggles aren’t all Hackett’s fault. Denver’s situation was clearly a mess because of Russell Wilson. Last season, before the Jets had even played a quarter, Hackett scrapped Rodgers’ offensive plan and installed a trio of quarterbacks — Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Simian — who had to navigate a season with an offensive line in constant flux.
Still, there wasn’t much evidence that Hackett has the answers to the Jets’ 2023 problems.
That leaves everyone wondering if he’ll be a liability in 2024. Rodgers says he won’t.
“Believe me. I believe in Nathaniel, too,” Rogers told Adam Schein on SiriusXM last week. “So, for me, this is it. There’s been a lot of crap that’s been said out there. He’s dealt with a lot of issues over the last few years that I think he’s dealt with very professionally. And at the end of the day, I think you should trust the working relationship and the conversations that I have with him. You should trust your staff.”
Rogers added that their partnership “has been fruitful in the past and will be fruitful again this year.”
Sure, Hackett was the Packers’ offensive coordinator in 2020 and ’21, when Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards, but that offense was led by Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
So when Rogers talks about how fruitful the partnership has been, I’m skeptical.
The Jets and head coach Robert Saleh likely interviewed several experienced offensive coordinators in January. What’s up for debate is what role those coaches would have if the Jets were to hire one of them. They have since become offensive coordinators for other teams, which suggests they would not have taken play-calling priority over Hackett.
Saleh said he wasn’t looking for a replacement for Hackett, he was just looking for another voice in the room, and I don’t think the Jets could have done that and gotten Rodgers to sign off.
“I’ll tell you this, I don’t know what those reports are, I don’t know where those sources came from,” Hackett said of the rumors that the Jets were looking to hire someone better than him. “I know what happened with us and it was great. We had a lot of conversations and we were able to talk to a lot of different people and that’s it.”
Asked if he thought Saleh still trusted him, he answered with an emphatic “yes.”
“I think it’s business as usual,” Hackett said. “Looking back on the whole offseason, I was in all of the conversations, which was great. I think having Robert around and being able to work with him was a really good thing for our offense.”
This seems like a no-win situation for Hackett. If the Jets offense performs well under Rodgers, guess who gets the credit? Eighth.
If the Jets’ offense falters, Hackett will join a growing list of former Jets offensive coordinators.
There are high expectations for the Jets in 2024, with some projecting them as a Super Bowl contender, but there are still questions surrounding the team, the biggest of which is Hackett’s ability to lead a high-powered offense.
Safety Dance
There hasn’t been much position competition for the Jets this spring and summer, but I think the only interesting one is safety.
Chuck Clark will return from a torn ACL he suffered last spring, Tony Adams is entering his second season as a potential starter, and Ashtyn Davis re-signed and has proven he can be effective in a smaller role, but does the coaching staff think he deserves a bigger role?
As of now, Clark and Adams are the clear leaders at the position.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if Davis gets a chance to prove himself as a starter during OTAs and training camp.
Clark is also likely to be on a pitch limit this summer as he returns from a knee injury, which could open up a bit of an opening.
Statistics
The Jets haven’t had a strong offensive output over the last eight seasons. Could this be the year they score a ton of touchdowns? If so, they could once again tighten up their defense and post a positive scoring differential for the first time since 2015.
Below are the Jets’ top 10 seasons by point differential.
1. 1998: 416 points, opponents’ 266 points — 150 points difference
2. 1968*: 419 points, opponents 280 points — points difference 139
3. 1985: 393 points, opponents 264 points — points difference 129
4. 2009: 348 points, opponents 236 — 112 points difference
5. 1969*: 353 points, opponents 269 points — points difference 84
6. 1982**: 245 points, opponents 166 points — points difference 79
7. 2015: 387 points, opponents 314 points — points difference 73
8. 2004: 333 points, opponents 261 points — points difference 72
9. 1981: 355 points, opponents 287 points — points difference 68
10. 2010: 367 points, opponents 304 points — points difference 63
*14 games
**9 Games
Source: Stathead
