Jets interim head coach immediately demoted former Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett

There is little doubt that Nathaniel Hackett is the worst head coach in the history of the Denver Broncos, a title that was previously held by Josh McDaniels. Nobody ever dreamed that another coach could take that title away from McDaniels, and yet here we are.

Hackett was one of just a small handful of head coaches to be fired before the end of his first year on the job, and the Walton-Penner Ownership Group was embarrassed by the product his team put on the field in 2022. It was such a bad coaching job that Broncos head coach Sean Payton made some astonishingly honest and brutal comments about it in a USA Today piece ahead of the 2023 season.

The quotes from Payton within that particular article served as a major chip on the shoulder of the New York Jets, at least in the early portion of the 2023 season. But the excitement of getting an early win over the Broncos last year has proven to be short-lived as the New York Jets are once again in a state of disarray, and Nathaniel Hackett is front and center.

Former Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett demoted by new Jets interim HC

The Jets, who just lost to the Broncos a couple of weeks ago, have officially fired and moved on from head coach Robert Saleh. Saleh had been with the team since 2021 and although he put together some awesome defenses (as we all expected), the Jets continued to struggle badly offensively both with former 2nd overall pick Zach Wilson and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers at the helm.

The common denominator the last two years? It's been Hackett. As a result of that, the first order of business for Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich was to demote Hackett and give play-calling duties over to Todd Downing.

Aaron Rodgers scoffed and laughed at the notion that he has as much power and influence as people seem to assume, but why else was Hackett not fired along with Saleh? Why would the Jets keep Hackett on the offensive staff to begin with? What has he done in the NFL in the last however many years to warrant keeping his job?

This reeks of an opportunity for Aaron Rodgers to help a buddy save face, and Sean Payton should be vindicated for all of the things he said in 2023 regarding Hackett and his coaching job in Denver.

It's crazy to think back to all that transpired with Hackett while he was in Denver and how things have carried over with the New York Jets. You can't help but wonder now looking back if Hackett was truly the glue keeping things together for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers as long as they held it together. Otherwise, that whole situation may have fizzled out even quicker.

But now, even Rodgers seems to understand that changes have to be made. He came out and said that he supports whatever decision new interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich has to make, and that includes the demoting of his pal Hackett. The situation in New York is going to be interesting to monitor as the season continues to roll along.