Getty ImagesAnd so it begins.
The Jets announced on Thursday that they hired Nathaniel Hackett as their new offensive coordinator. This is a strong hire. They needed someone who has experience play-calling on offense. After firing Mike LaFleur, they just could not go with another rookie play-caller. While Hackett was a fail in Denver in his one season as a head coach, he took a Jaguars team led by Blake Bortles to the AFC Championship, and he helped get the Packers to two NFC Championships.
The Packers QB during that time? Aaron Rodgers. The hoopla is already taking over Twitter and has Jets fans dreaming of the future Hall of Fame QB taking over the helm at a position the Jets badly need one. Does the Hackett hiring mean Rodgers to the Jets becomes more of a possibility? It definitely helps. But right now, it’s too early to know whether Rodgers will play, whether he will come to the Jets and whether the Packers want to deal him. But it sure is fun to speculate.
To break down the Hackett hire and dive into the Rodgers discussion, we bring you an emergency episode of the “Gang’s All Here” podcast with Brian Costello and me.
Gang’s All Here Podcast with Jake Brown & Brian Costello:
- HACKETT HIRE: His most impressive work was with the Jaguars, helping get an offense led by Blake Bortles to the AFC Championship. From an experience standpoint, it makes sense. He has a relationship with Robert Saleh, which helped. We need to see who his QB is and what the offensive line looks like, but they needed someone who had experience with play-calling. We also react to the hiring of Keith Carter as the offensive line coach.
- AARON RODGERS: Does this give the Jets a better chance now to get Aaron Rodgers? Lots of hurdles to clear: does Rodgers still want to play football? Do the Packers not want him anymore? Would he come to the Jets? Would Woody Johnson dish out the cash to pay him?
- WHAT WOULD IT TAKE: The Jets would have to pay him essentially $59 million up front. His contract will not hurt the cap much, but it is a lot of cash. Coz believes it would not take a ton to get him, potentially a few conditional draft picks. He’s 39, so it’s a risk, and you help the Packers by taking the contract. He would likely just play here for two years. Broncos were thinking the same thing last year that Rodgers would join Hackett in Denver and it didn’t happen. Would he wear No. 12 with the Jets?
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Catch up on all episodes of “Gang’s All Here,” a New York Jets podcast, by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Coz and Jake on Twitter @BrianCoz and @JakeBrownRadio. New episodes of “Gang’s All Here” drop Monday and Thursdays.
