Nathaniel Hackett has been hired as the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets, marking his third team in the last calendar year and fueling speculation that the move was made in part to try and draw Aaron Rodgers to New York.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter did an excellent trolling job shortly after the news of Hackett going to the Jets broke Thursday morning. The NFL insider tweeted: “A gift to sports-talk radio for days to come: New Jets’ OC Nathaniel Hackett has a lot of friends with the Packers, for whatever that is worth.”
A gift to sports-talk radio for days to come: New Jets’ OC Nathaniel Hackett has a lot of friends with the Packers, for whatever that is worth.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 26, 2023
Hackett was the offensive coordinator in Green Bay before accepting the head coaching position with the Denver Broncos, only to be fired after the Broncos found themselves 4-11, out of contention and locked into a burdensome contract with quarterback Russell Wilson.
As the Packers offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021, Aaron Rodgers and Co. led the NFL in scoring in 2020 and had a top-10 passing offense in 2020 and 2021. Green Bay won 13 games each of those seasons and reached the conference championship game in 2019 and 2020.
Here’s what Rodgers told the Washington Post after Hackett left Green Bay for Denver last offseason: “It’s bittersweet losing Nathaniel just because I love him like a brother,” Rodgers said. “He’s an amazing, amazing guy.”
Rodgers’ future is really in the hands of the Packers. He’s not a free agent and the Packers control his rights and could choose to keep him. But Rodgers has made it clear that he’d rather retire than be part of a rebuild.
“If there’s a rebuild ahead, I won’t be a part of it,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show,” later adding: “There’s no point in coming back to play football unless you think you can win it all.”
Schefter previously reported that the Packers are unlikely to trade Rodgers within the NFC.
“I don’t think there’s any way the Packers will trade him in the NFC, and if they do go ahead and trade him it would be the AFC,” Schefter said.
More context: Aaron Rodgers doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract. The #Packers don't need his direct permission to trade him, at least not contractually.
Adding the video of the segment from SportsCenter. https://t.co/XWYmFefeNS
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 24, 2023
