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NY Jets must remove the handcuffs and fire Nathaniel Hackett

Stop babying Aaron Rodgers. Hackett needs to go.
Justin Fried
Justin Fried

The Jet Press

NY Jets, Nathaniel Hackett / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The NY Jets are an embarrassment. More specifically, the offense is an embarrassment. Even more specifically, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is a complete and utter embarrassment.

That much should be painfully clear following the Jets' humiliating 32-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 11. The Jets' season was on the line. The coaching staff insisted that personnel changes were coming — changes that would hopefully salvage some sort of offensive progress.

Instead, the Jets made the wrong changes. The players were part of the problem, sure, but the biggest issue with this offense is staring them right in the face...and the team has shown no desire to actually correct it.

Of course, we're talking about the man who Sean Payton declared executed one of the worst coaching jobs in NFL history in Denver last season. As it turns out, Payton was right.

Nathaniel Hackett is a disgrace to NFL offensive coordinators. He's a disgrace to the millions of Jets fans who want to see any semblance of competency on offense. It's time to make a change.

The NY Jets must fire Nathaniel Hackett

Everyone knows why Hackett has a job with the Jets right now. It's the same reason why the Jets have been hesitant to make a change when it comes to their offensive coaching staff.

Hackett has a job because of Aaron Rodgers. That's it. We all know it.

Rodgers has been Hackett's criticism shield in the NFL since the two teamed up in Green Bay. He carried his coordinator for years with the Packers despite a track record of failures everywhere he went before that.

His lone season away from Rodgers was an all-time disaster in Denver. Still, it was enough to earn him a job with the Jets because his buddy was going to be the quarterback. He also had prior history with Robert Saleh. Friendships go a long way in the NFL.

But friendships don't produce results. At this point, I don't care what Rodgers says or thinks. He's seeing the same putrid display of offensive football that we are every week.

It's important to have perspective here. This offense isn't just bad. This isn't just some normal, run-of-the-mill struggling offense. This is statistically one of the worst offenses the modern NFL has ever seen.

They're on pace to finish as one of the worst red-zone and third-down defenses in the last 20+ years. They went over 40 consecutive drives without a touchdown. That's not normal.

Zach Wilson is a very bad NFL quarterback. He's not backup-caliber. The Jets are trotting out fourth-stringers on their offensive line. They're starting undrafted rookies at wide receiver.

All of that may be true, but there's still no excuse for any NFL offense to look like this. It just can't happen. No NFL offense we've seen in years has been this bad.

Forget friendships. Screw connections. Nathaniel Hackett is a terrible offensive coordinator who should not be calling plays at the NFL level in the year 2023.

Send a message. Make a change. If Rodgers has an issue with it, he can get over himself.


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Justin Fried

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.