Nathaniel Hackett getting another NFL job is comedy gold for Jets fans

The New York Jets had many poor coaches and players come through town in the ill-fated two-season Aaron Rodgers experiment, but none were as consistently reviled and as poor at their job as offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. The failed Denver Broncos head coach was trying to run an offense that was outdated 10 years ago.

While that performance in tandem with his terrible stint in Denver would be enough to prevent most coaches from getting another role in the pros, Hackett's superpower of being able to get cozy with some of the NFL's most influential minds has kept him gainfully employed.

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is giving Hackett another lifeline in the pros, enlisting him to work as a defensive consultant at training camp. LaFleur did the same thing with fired head coach Robert Saleh, whom he tasked with helping the offense. Much like Tim Boyle, Hackett just keeps surviving.

Former Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett lands job with Packers

Hackett may have helped coordinate Rodgers to multiple MVP awards, but LaFleur was calling the plays and Rodgers himself exerted a great deal of control over the offense. Crucially, it also doesn't take a mastermind to get MVP production out of pre-Achilles tear Rodgers.

Hackett has been an offensive coordinator or play-calling head coach for 11 seasons in the pros, eight of which came without an injured Rodgers. In those seasons, Hackett only twice amassed an offense ranked higher than 22nd in points per game. The 2017 Jaguars were fifth in points, but they regressed to 31st the season after.

Because of his servile relationship to Rodgers and the iron grip he had over the franchise, the Jets couldn't even fire him properly last year. They had to demote him and keep him as a sycophantic cheerleader on the sidelines while Todd Downing did an uninspiring (but still much better) job calling plays.

While LaFleur did this with Saleh last season, the former Jets head coach had impressive enough defensive credentials to get legitimate head coaching interest in 2025 before taking a premier DC job with San Francisco. Saleh remains a hot 2026 coaching cycle name, while Hackett is a punchline.

Sometimes in the NFL, who you know is more important than what you know. Even after a stint that was so terrible he lost all respect outside of his close friends within the league, LaFleur is willing to get his buddy a job.

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