Why the NY Jets must take play calling away from Nathaniel Hackett

Nathaniel Hackett has been bad everywhere

None of this should be surprising to Jets fans, though, as Hackett has been a horrible offensive mind every place he has ever gone.

In Green Bay, he was lauded as an offensive mastermind under coach Mike LaFleur and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers and the Packers were 13-3 in consecutive seasons with Hackett on the staff there, going deep into the playoffs in 2020 before losing to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the NFC Championship, earning Rodgers back-to-back MVPs also.

What few realize is that Hackett, despite being the offensive coordinator, had no play-calling responsibility. In fact, he managed nothing with the offensive game planning besides crafting the red zone offense.

For reference, Green Bay, with Aaron Rodgers and a 13-3 NFC Championship caliber roster, finished 27th in red zone touchdown percentage and 18th in red zone scores per game despite finishing eighth in red zone chances per game.

That tells me everything about Hackett I want to know... other people were capable of getting this team right down the field at an elite level, and once Hackett's plan took shape, the Packers, with an absolutely loaded roster and MVP quarterback, regressed too far below league average.

If that wasn't enough, Hackett had more evidence for his inability to manage an offense with his time in Denver last year as head coach. Under Hackett's leadership, the Denver offense was one of the worst in the league last year.

Denver finished 32nd in points per game (out of 32), 21st in yards per game, 32nd in third-down percentage, and 28th in touchdowns per game. Since he has left, the entire offense has improved this year, rising to 14th in touchdowns per game, 17th in points per game, 23rd in yards per game, and 14th in third-down percentage.

Since Hackett has left, the Broncos went from one of the worst offenses to league average despite a complete lack of talent on the roster. Russell Wilson, who Hackett made seem like a practice squad-level player, has thrown for 1600 yards, 16 touchdowns, just four interceptions, and a completion percentage of 66 percent.

The fact Hackett has struggled with the Jets yet again as an offensive mind should come as no surprise to anyone who knew the first thing about Hackett's history.