The 2023 season did not go as planned for the New York Jets.
Specifically, the offense was far more offensive to the eyes than was expected for the 2023 New York Jets.
The cause of that letdown is quite obvious: quarterback Aaron Rodgers (who was supposed to be the focal point of the offense) suffered an injury on the first drive of the season and missed the remainder of the season.
That isn’t creating an excuse so much as it is acknowledging the reality that very few would be able to overcome losing a player of Rodgers’ importance. But, hey, when your offense is among the league’s worst, the offensive coordinator is still going to shoulder some of that blame.
How much blame? Well, that’s up for debate. Apparently for the New York Jets decision makers, the answer to that question was “quite a bit,” as they considered replacing Hackett this offseason according to Connor Hughes of SNY, who wrote the following:
The Jets made legitimate attempts this offseason to hire someone who would, essentially, replace Hackett. Not as a new offensive coordinator, but a title above who would run the show. The Jets had enough things they needed to address this offseason without replacing areas they’re content with. That pursuit tells me, internally, there are legitimate concerns with Hackett’s ability to successfully run things.
While Hackett always seemed likely to remain on the team based on this report, this makes it seem like the Jets considered giving him what amounts to a demotion via giving his responsibility (but not his title) to someone else. Given Hackett’s long track record as an offensive coordinator and a head coach, this would have been a very notable (and rather embarrassing) role reduction.
While all of this means very little for the Jets currently since they ultimately did not go through with hiring a replacement, it could be a signal of whose job security could come into question first if the Jets were to struggle.
