Jets spoke with Arthur Smith about joining coaching staff but he declined due to unclear role, per report

The New York Jets ' flirtation with ousting Nathaniel Hackett as the offensive play-caller was one of the juicier storylines to come out of East Rutherford this offseason. While the team reportedly explored the idea of replacing Hackett, it never came to fruition and he remains the frontman of the offense heading into 2024. One of the names that New York did ponder, however, was former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, according to The Athletic .

The report stated that the two sides talked about Smith "possibly being part of the play-calling process." Pro Football Talk followed up on that nugget and confirmed that the two sides connected this offseason, but Smith declined in part because the role that he'd actually have on Robert Salah's coaching staff was not clear.

This jives with a prior report from SNY that stated that the team did look for someone other than Hackett to run the offense, albeit without the coordinator title.

Overall, that seems like a sticky situation. Does that mean they were going to keep Hackett as the OC and simply bring in someone to contribute to the play-calling? Would Hackett be gone and the new coach assume the role simply without the title? These are probably some of the questions Smith asked himself and what led him to ultimately shy away from accepting due to its lack of clarity.

The Jets offense did struggle in 2023. While the injury to Aaron Rodgers out of the gate didn't help things one bit, they still finished 31st in points per possession and 32nd in yards per possession. New York was also last in the league in third-down conversion rate and in red zone efficiency. Even without your franchise quarterback under center, those are the types of results that have one sitting on a tremendously hot seat.

As for Smith, who was fired by Atlanta back in January, has landed on his feet after being hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers to be the team's offensive coordinator under Mike Tomlin.