Nathaniel Hackett shares what's different about Jets offense

Nathaniel Hackett sounds confident he'll produce positive results in his second season serving as the New York Jets offensive coordinator.

"Anytime you're in a second-year offense, it's a completely different feel from when you first start," Hackett explained during a recent appearance on "The Official Jets Podcast," as shared by Jack Bell of the club's website. "You're installing plays, you're installing alignments, and you're talking about guys just trying to understand what they're doing. Now you can really detail it up. You can talk about the intricacies of the route. You can experiment with new plays, new motions, all kinds of different, fun things."

Hackett officially joined the Jets in early 2023 months before the club acquired quarterback Aaron Rodgers via a trade with the Green Bay Packers. 

Rodgers first had Hackett as an OC with Green Bay from 2019 through the 2021 season, and the Jets hoped the two would again enjoy a positive working relationship after Rodgers earned Most Valuable Player Award honors for the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

However, New York's Super Bowl LVIII dreams evaporated after Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the club's regular-season opener. 

The Jets offense routinely disappointed last fall as Rodgers recovered from that setback, and the team reportedly "made legitimate attempts this offseason to hire someone who would, essentially, replace Hackett."

"When you have a guy like Aaron, you want to build everything around, I think anybody would want to do that," Hackett acknowledged. "And when he went down, we had to make adjustments."

Those adjustments couldn't prevent the Jets from extending what is now the longest active playoff drought among the four major North American sports leagues. More recently, Rodgers skipped the club's two-day mandatory minicamp in June because of a vacation.

If nothing else, the Jets have been anything but boring during their Rodgers era.

"I think adversity builds strength," Hackett added during the podcast. "And I think some of the experience the guys had, whether it was the young wide receivers, the offensive linemen who were just coming into the building and starting right away, it's great for being able to put on that game face and feel more confidence."

Such confidence likely won't mean much for Hackett's future with the Jets if Rodgers either suffers another serious injury this fall or plays poorly throughout what could be his only active season as New York's QB1.