Jets owner appears to send message about OC Nathaniel Hackett

Dec 18, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets had one of the worst offenses in the NFL this season, and team owner Woody Johnson clearly feels the results should have been better even after Aaron Rodgers went down.

Johnson was very open about his frustration while speaking with several media outlets at the NFL Honors awards show in Las Vegas on Thursday night. One particular comment he made to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington did not reflect well on offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

Johnson told Darlington that he still has faith in head coach Robert Saleh. The 76-year-old also said the plan heading into 2024 is for Saleh to concentrate on offense and leave the defensive side of the ball to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

“He’s gonna concentrate on offense. He’s got Jeff to do the defense and we’ve got good special teams. It’s offense, offense, offense,” Johnson said. “As I’ve said, get the quarterback, get him moving. You know, get the line moving. Work on the run and do all that you have to do to win.”

So what about Hackett? Johnson must not be that impressed with the team’s OC, and the owner is not the only one. A recent story from The Athletic’s Zach Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini painted a picture of Hackett as being unprepared and not working as hard as he needed to in his first season with the Jets.

The reported plan is for Hackett to return as OC but have his role reduced. Rodgers, who worked with Hackett in Green Bay and is a big reason the coach was hired by the Jets, is said to be on board with that plan.

Johnson mentioned several times on Thursday that he is unhappy with the Jets’ offense. It would stand to reason that Rodgers will fix many of those issues, but Johnson believes the team should have been better this year even after losing the former MVP.

Rodgers went viral at one point when he was shown on TV openly disagreeing with a play call, so perhaps he has lost faith in his buddy Hackett as well.