Heat on Nathaniel Hackett now that Aaron Rodgers is back

Everyone can use a guardian angel at some point in their life.

Aaron Rodgers is Nate Hackett’s guardian angel.

Rodgers is the reason Hackett was hired as the Jets offensive coordinator.

And Rodgers is the reason Hackett remains the offensive coordinator despite overseeing a dismal and dysfunctional offense last season without Rodgers, who ruptured his left Achilles four plays into the opener.

Hackett, hired while the Jets were courting Rodgers to be their quarterback and savior, was one of many recruiting tools utilized by Jets owner Woody Johnson (including that jar of honey from Queen Elizabeth II’s garden).

When Rodgers was lost for the season, Hackett was exposed. His body of work in his first year with the Jets was, to be polite, not good.

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The Jets finished 31st in the league in points per possession (1.13) and 32nd in yards per possession (21.8). They ranked 29th in the league in points scored, averaging just 15.8 per game.

In fairness to Hackett, when Rodgers went down, he was left with Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian — none of whom is a starting-caliber NFL quarterback. So, that’s on GM Joe Douglas and his personnel people for drafting the wrong guy and leaving the cupboard so bare.

“Anytime you lose a player of that magnitude, it’s hard on everybody, not just me, but from an entire organization,’’ Hackett said Wednesday before the Jets departed for North Carolina to work out with the Panthers in advance of Saturday’s preseason game. “In the end, we have to keep moving forward. If anything happens, you have to be ready to rock and roll.’’

The problem is the Jets offense was rocked and rolled by opposing defenses in Rodgers’ absence, leading to heavy criticism of Hackett.

Rodgers has been vocal in his support of Hackett, rejecting the rampant criticism of him, perhaps the worst of which came from Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who last summer called the job Hackett did with Denver in 2022 “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”

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“I felt very protective of him,’’ Rodgers said this week. “Thankfully, a lot of that’s in the rearview mirror for both of us, but it’s been a tough couple years with some of the stuff that [Payton] said about him and then obviously the scrutiny with our offense struggling. I feel like he took a lot of it on the chin and wore it well, but we’d like to show some things this year.’’

It doesn’t help the polarizing Hackett that head coach Robert Saleh interviewed some offensive coaches in the offseason to add to his staff. But Saleh insists it was not an effort to unseat Hackett as the play caller but to add a third offensive voice alongside Hackett and quarterbacks coach Todd Downing. Saleh indicated the reason he didn’t hire anyone was because those whom he interviewed were seeking a coordinator title.

When asked this week whether Hackett’s role in the offense this season has been altered, Saleh said: “It’s the same. He’s still our play caller. He still runs the offense. He’s still in full, total control.’’

Whether that turns out to be a good thing for the 2024 Jets will be up for debate until the results roll in.

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“I think all of us, including myself, including [Hackett], including players, we all learned so much from last year,’’ Saleh said. “And because of it, I think we’re more prepared this year than we were a year ago to hit the curveball, if you will.’’

The Jets, indeed, were thrown a Sandy Koufax-like curveball when Rodgers went down. Hackett was batting leadoff and he swung and missed.

“Everything’s a learning experience,’’ Hackett said. “We learned a lot from last year, and we’re going to utilize that this year.’’

The Jets winning and performing well on offense will perhaps make a lot of people forget Hackett’s past failures. Win or lose, though, it’s clear the bond between Hackett and Rodgers is unbreakable.

“We speak the same language, West Coast language … we kind of grew up in the system together,’’ Rodgers said.

“There are just people in this profession that you’re drawn to,’’ Hackett said. “We have a lot of the same likes. We [come] from a foundation of an offense that we both grew up in. For him, being with [former Green Bay] coach Mike McCarthy, who was with my father [Paul], so we have this old background of offense.

“Off the field, I just think the world of him. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. We’re very lucky to have that, and it’s something that I’ll cherish the rest of my life.’’

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