Jets reportedly considered hiring former Falcons HC to help Nathaniel Hackett

The New York Jets almost hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith over the offseason to assist offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, according to a report by Dianna Russini of The Athletic.

Smith was fired by the Atlanta Falcons in January and brought in as the Pittsburgh Steelers' new offensive coordinator later that month.

The 42-year-old served as the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans in 2019 and 2020 before leading Atlanta for the last three seasons.

While in Tennessee, Smith helped quarterback Ryan Tannehill earn both a Pro Bowl honor and the AP Comeback Player of the Year award in 2019, and he also mentored running back Derrick Henry, who won AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2020. The Titans offense finished 10th in scoring during Smith's first season with the club and fourth in 2020.

The Falcons' offenses during his three-year stint were significantly less successful, finishing 15th in scoring in 2022 and 26th in both 2021 and 2023.

Hackett and Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers had three big seasons together with the Green Bay Packers from 2019-2021, joining forces for two of the signal-caller's MVP campaigns and leading some prolific offenses. Hackett then had a disastrous 15-game run as the head coach of the Denver Broncos before being fired, joining New York afterward in January 2023.

When Rodgers suffered his season-ending Achilles injury just four snaps into the 2023 season, Hackett's job became that much harder.

Gang Green's offense struggled mightily all season behind Zach Wilson (and later Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian), finishing the season 29th in scoring (15.8 points per game). The team was shut out once, scored fewer than 10 points four times and only went over 22 points on three occasions.

Head coach Robert Saleh said in May that he wouldn't discuss if he tried to replace Hackett in the offseason but did confirm that the 44-year-old would remain the primary play-caller.