NY Jets' Nathaniel Hackett hire somehow looks even worse after latest coaching move

The NY Jets had the opportunity to bring in a brilliant offensive mind after Robert Saleh and Woody Johnson decided to part ways with offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur in 2023, and they decided to tape a grenade to the end of a rake and step on it when they hired Nathaniel Hackett.

Hackett, who was hired after his one-and-done stint with the Broncos, was thought to be the Svengali who unlocks the best of Aaron Rodgers. Two years and a handful of wins later, neither person will be back with Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey's regime in 2025.

One of many names the Jets considered to replace LaFleur was Kevin Patullo, who served as passing game coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. After Kellen Moore took the New Orleans Saints head coaching job, the Eagles made a move that could make the Jets look even worse in hindsight.

Patullo, who had since earned the extra title of associate head coach, has been promoted to offensive coordinator. Patullo will now look like a genius as the Eagles keep rolling over the rest of the NFC, while the Jets will spend 2025 digging out from the wreckage Hackett left in his wake.

Kevin Patullo named Eagles OC after Jets passed for Nathaniel Hackett

While Moore provided enough of a schematic boost to take the Eagles over the top, Philadelphia may be the most idiot-proof offense in the league thanks to that loaded offensive line and Saquon Barkley. Patullo now has a springboard to multiple head coaching opportunities if he is able to effectively call plays.

Hackett, meanwhile, has been so wretched that it seems like no one is ready to touch him with a ten-foot pole. Hackett was stripped of play-calling duties after Robert Saleh, and Aaron Rodgers' influence may have been the only reason that he wasn't fired at that same time.

Names the Jets passed over when they named Hackett as the OC include Patullo, new Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley, and Commanders assistant head coach Brian Johnson. All three of them could be on the pathway to head coaching jobs, while Hackett can't get a job in this league without Rodgers.

While Engstrand has promise as an OC, he will need to reverse a trend of historically bad hires at this spot. Hackett, much like his father Paul Hackett, was a historically inept hire who sums up this franchise's inability to nail coaching hires at the most important junctures.

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