Jaguars Head Coach Search: Pros and Cons to Nathaniel Hackett's Candidacy

Is Nathaniel Hackett the right coach to lead the Jaguars into the future?

Well, here we are again.

One year after the Jacksonville Jaguars conducted a search for a new head coach to replace Doug Marrone, the team finds itself in the same situation this winter, now looking for a replacement for their replacement.

Names have been thrown around with vigor as potential candidates to replace Urban Meyer, while several interviews have been officially set up between coaches and the Jaguars' brass.

But who is the best candidate for the Jaguars? What does each of them bring to the table, on and off the field? From Jim Caldwell to Kellen Moore and everyone in between, we examine the pros and cons that come with each coach and their potential impact on the Jaguars.

Read more: Jaguars Head Coach Search: Pros and Cons to Jim Caldwell's Candidacy

Next up in our review of this year's candidates: Nathaniel Hackett. 

Background

• UC Davis (2003): Assistant linebackers coach
• Stanford (2003-2004): Offensive/defensive assistant to the coordinators
• Stanford (2005): Specialists/recruiting coordinator
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2006–2007): Offensive quality control
• Buffalo Bills (2008–2009): Offensive quality control
• Syracuse (2010): Passing game coordinator/Quarterbacks/tight ends coach
• Syracuse (2011–2012): Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks/tight ends coach
• Buffalo Bills (2013–2014): Offensive coordinator
• Jacksonville Jaguars (2015–2016): Quarterbacks coach
• Jacksonville Jaguars (2016–2018): Offensive coordinator
• Green Bay Packers (2019–present): Offensive coordinator

The son of long-time NFL and college coach and offensive coordinator Paul Hackett, Nathaniel Hackett first got his start as an offensive and defensive assistant in the college ranks. He eventually joined the NFL in 2006 on Jon Gruden's staff in Tampa Bay before later being hired by Doug Marrone to lead Syracuse's passing game and, eventually, their entire offense. 

Hackett would then follow Marrone to his next several stops. First, he was hired by Marrone as his offensive coordinator when the former got the nod as the Buffalo Bills' head coach in 2013. Hackett would orchestrate the offense for two seasons, with the Bills finishing No. 25 and No. 26 in offensive DVOA during his tenure. 

After Marrone stepped down from the Bills job, Hackett again followed him, this time to Jacksonville as the Jaguars' quarterbacks coach for 2014 first-rounder Blake Bortles. Hackett spent two years as the Jaguars' quarterbacks coach and was eventually promoted to interim offensive coordinator at the end of the 2016 season, later being promoted to full-time coordinator when Marrone was named head coach after the 2016 season.

Hackett was instrumental in the Jaguars' offensive success in 2017, with the Jaguars finishing with a 10-6 record and the No. 15 DVOA offense despite a lack of weapons and a below-average quarterback at the helm. Hackett and the Jaguars failed to replicate the success in 2018, however, leading to Hackett's in-season firing. 

Hackett was able to quickly find work elsewhere, however, being named offensive coordinator of the Packers under new head coach Matt LaFleur and earning the respect of Aaron Rodgers, propelling him into head coach conversations.

Pros

In terms of the most important aspect of a head coach's job -- leadership -- Hackett checks every box. He is one of the more well-liked and respected coaches in all of football, earning praise from coaches, ownership, his quarterbacks, and insiders alike. Hackett's ability to relate to his players and keep an even keel attitude was a major boost to his resume in Jacksonville during his first tenure in Duval, and it is clear this has followed him to Green Bay.

Hackett, by all reports out of Jacksonville and Green Bay over the years, is a player's coach who is able to work in a cohesive manner with the rest of a coaching staff. He has been given major praise for Green Bay's red-zone offense as a part of their collaborative offensive staff, proving that he can make an impact on an offense even when he is not the play-caller.

Safe to say Aaron Rodgers loves working with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who’s already getting mentioned for head coaching jobs. “Hope he doesn’t go anywhere,” Rodgers said.

“Unless I do.” pic.twitter.com/j5sIZ8z5Dy

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) November 11, 2020

Hackett has also shown the ability to adapt his offense to his roster. The Jaguars' 2017 offensive roster was completely built around rookie running back Leonard Fournette, but the offense was able to keep afloat in the games Fournette missed because Hackett was able to implement a scheme and game plans that took advantage of the entirety of the roster as opposed to simply leaning on one player.

Hackett's work with Bortles is also a major feather in his cap, even more so than his time with Rodgers. Bortles has had just one season in which he wasn't statistically one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL, and this came under Hackett's tutelage. Hackett often took the ball out of Bortles' hands by design, but he also called plays for the only above-average stretch of play of Bortles' entire NFL career and was able to work around Bortles' clear flaws. 

There is also strong consideration to the fact that Hackett is close with both LaFleur and Sean McVay, two of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL. How much Hackett has been able to pick up from each, especially the former, and take with him moving forward could be pivotal for his next stop.

Cons

While Hackett got the absolute best out of Bortles in 2017, there is a reason the 2018 season went downhill. Yes, the Jaguars sustained injuries across the offensive line and to Fournette, but Bortles himself regressed as the entire offense took a step backward. The easy pitch-and-catch passing game from 2017 was gone, with every forward pass looking like it was pulling teeth the next year. 

Hackett doesn't deserve all of the blame for the Jaguars' poor offensive output in 2018, but it is worth considering whether his work with Bortles was a flash in the pan from either a coaching or playing perspective. And since Hackett hasn't been a full-time play-caller since the 2018 season, it is difficult to say whether he has been able to grow in that area. 

Would Hackett be a CEO-type of head coach or a play-caller? If the Jaguars were to hire him for the former, that would make sense. He is able to build strong relationships and his energy clearly spreads throughout his entire unit and, if he was a head coach, would do the same throughout the entire team. The question is if he has done enough as a play-caller in Jacksonville and Buffalo to earn the same cache and respect. To this point, that is more unknown than anything else. 

Lastly, there would be some optics the Jaguars would likely have to face. Hiring a coach to lead the entire team who the organization fired three years ago as a play-caller would be an odd move on the surface, even if Hackett was more or less clearly a scapegoat in his 2018 firing. Still, there would be questions about why he wasn't good enough then but is now.