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Following a 2022 season that saw second-year quarterback Zach Wilson regress to an alarming degree, the New York Jets parted ways with offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas — the pair responsible for drafting Wilson in the first place — kept their jobs.
Now, as the team searches for his replacement, reports indicate that the Jets are meeting with former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator and disastrous Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
Hackett, who was hired as the Denver Broncos’ head coach last offseason, only lasted 15 games before he was fired (the Broncos were 4-11 at the time of his dismissal).
The New York Jets are currently meeting with former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett for their offensive coordinator position, per sources.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 18, 2023
If Hackett is hired by the Jets — the owners of the longest playoff drought in the NFL at 11-years-and-counting — he’ll be tasked with resurrecting the career of Wilson, who looked like one of the all-time greatest draft busts at times during this season despite having solid talent around him.
During the 2022 season, Zach Wilson — who was benched for journeyman Mike White midway through the year — completed 54% of his passes for 1,688 yards, six touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Despite his struggles, though, head coach Robert Saleh has continued to claim that the organization is committed to the 23-year-old former BYU quarterback as their franchise quarterback going forward:
“He’s a huge plan in our future,” Saleh said back in December. “We’re not quitting on the young man. We’re going to do everything we can do to develop him.”
Before his ill-fated stint coaching Russell Wilson and the Broncos, the 43-year-old Hackett was the offensive coordinator for the Packers (2019-21), the Jacksonville Jaguars (2016-2018), and the Buffalo Bills (2013-2014)0. Prior to those roles, Hackett had gigs at Syracuse, the Tampa Bay Bucs, Stanford, and UC Davis.
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