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Jets' Nathaniel Hackett One of Five Assistant Coaches 'that'll have biggest impact on '23 NFL season'
The New York Jets planted the seed for their 2023 season back in January when they hired Nathaniel Hackett.
As much as the hire may have been about the offensive coordinator's ability to scheme, it was also about making the Jets an attractive destination for future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“A big reason I’m here, I gotta mention, is Nathaniel Hackett,” said Rodgers at his Jets' introductory press conference. “Hack and I became really close friends three years in Green Bay. I love him, like a brother, and I believe in him. I’m really happy to be back working with him again.”
Hackett spent three seasons with Rodgers and the Packers. The result was 111 touchdown passes, 13 interceptions, two NFL MVP awards and a .796 regular season win percentage.
Rodgers's "worst" statistical season in Hackett's scheme was a 16-game sample that featured 4,002 pass yards, 26 touchdown passes and four interceptions. Gang Green would sign up for that without thinking twice.
"Aaron and I, we come from the origins of a system that is very ancient. So, sometimes it’s hard to get that kind of communicated to people," said Hackett on the final day of OTAs.
Receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, who joined the Jets through free agency, also speak Hackett's language.
"So, I think anytime you have people that have been in the system, especially a guy like Aaron and I who’ve been in it for so long, and then some of the other guys that we have on the team that have been there, it definitely helps," said Hackett.
Aaron Rodgers and Nathaniel Hackett
Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Gang Green's 2023 success likely hinges on if Hackett and Rodgers can get the system operating at an optimal level in time for Week 1.
With OTAs winding down earlier this month, NFL.com columnist Jeffri Chadiha highlighted Hackett's hiring and the importance of making Rodgers as comfortable as possible in his new home.
Chadiha ranked the "five assistant coach hires that that'll have biggest impact on '23 NFL season" and Hackett topped the list.
Excerpt from "...Nathaniel Hackett's redemption?":
"... The real question is: What kind of coordinator will Hackett be after the train wreck that was his only season as the Broncos' head coach?
... All Hackett needs to do is help Rodgers be Rodgers. That doesn't mean the quarterback has to be the player who won league MVP honors in 2020 and 2021. He just needs to stay healthy, acclimate quickly and everything else will take care of itself. ...
Realistic fans should know this won't be an entirely smooth transition in New York, especially when considering some of the ups and downs Tom Brady endured in his first season in Tampa Bay. However, that first year with the Buccaneers also ended with a Super Bowl win. The Jets have the goods to make that happen. ...."
— Jeffri Chadiha
"His [Rodgers's] experience at Green Bay when I was there, we had a great time," said Hackett. "We won a lot of football games and that’s when you get to have the most fun."
Now, the hope is the fun will follow them to New York.
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