Tag: Nathaniel Hackett

Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett among Jets coaches attending Michigan Pro Day

Plenty of coaches are in Ann Arbor, Michigan Friday. Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett is one of them.

The eyes of the NFL Draft world are on Ann Arbor, Michigan Friday as the Wolverines hold their Pro Day.

A huge turnout is expected for the event after Michigan sent a record 18 prospects to the Scouting Combine. Multiple head coaches, assistant coaches and general managers will be in attendance. Among those coaches are three coaches for the New York Jets including offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

Tight ends coach Ron Middleton and offensive line coach Keith Carter are also in attendance.

For reference, these were the 18 players that were in Indianapolis for the Combine:

QB J.J. McCarthy
LB Junior Colson
WR Roman Wilson
DT Kris Jenkins
OG Zak Zinter
CB Mike Sainristil
RB Blake Corum
OG Trente Jones
OG Trevor Keegan
TE AJ Barner
Edge Braiden McGregor
WR Cornelius Johnson
Edge Jaylen Harrell
CB Josh Wallace
C Drake Nugent
LB Michael Barrett
OG Karsen Barnhart
OG LaDarius Henderson

Russell Wilson blames shoulder injury for 2022 struggles with Broncos

“I had my lat [injury],” Russell Wilson said. “I was playing on it, pushing through it. Should I have done that? You compete every day.”

After the Denver Broncos officially released quarterback Russell Wilson last week, he signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

During his introductory press conference on Friday, Wilson attributed his struggles in Denver to a shoulder injury.

“I think it’s all about how you look at it,” Wilson said when asked about two “disappointing” seasons in Denver. “I think in life, a lot of times when things don’t go your way you can look at it as disappointing or growth moments.

“For me, my first year, I had my lat [injury]. I was playing on it, pushing through it. Should I have done that? You compete every day. You got to do what you got to do. I think everything didn’t go our way the first year. This past year I felt like myself again. You know, so I can’t wait to just put on the cleats and go after it.”

Wilson suffered a “partially torn lat” in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022, according to an ESPN report. In the three games before that injury, Wilson averaged 247 passing yards, 0.66 touchdown passes, three sacks and 0.33 interceptions per game. Denver’s offense averaged 14.3 points per game in the three contests before Wilson’s shoulder injury.

There were certainly contributing factors for Wilson’s struggles in 2022 — Nathaniel Hackett’s abysmal offense among them — but to suggest all of the struggles were connected to his injury seems to be a stretch.

Wilson did have a bounce-back year under coach Sean Payton in 2023, improving his completion percentage, touchdown percentage and interception percentage last fall. It wasn’t enough, though, as Payton ultimately decided to move on from the veteran QB.

A healthy Wilson now gets a fresh start in Pittsburgh.

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No coaches remain with Broncos from Nathaniel Hackett’s old staff

Entering their second offseason without Nathaniel Hackett, the Broncos no longer employ any members of Hackett’s old coaching staff.

Now entering their second season without Nathaniel Hackett, the Denver Broncos no longer employ any members of his 2022 coaching staff.

Some coaches were fired, some were out of contract and not renewed, and some — like Ejiro Evero — wanted to leave. Now no coaches remain from that 2022 staff that went 5-12.

After new head coach Sean Payton took over early last year, the club parted ways with all but two coaches from Hackett’s staff: defensive backs coach Christian Parker and defensive line coach Marcus Dixon.

Parker and Dixon both left the team in lateral moves this offseason. Parker joined the Philadelphia Eagles as their new passing game coordinator and Dixon joined the Minnesota Vikings as their new defensive line coach.

The Broncos will replace Parker with Jim Leonhard. Dixon’s replacement is still to-be-determined.

Plenty of players remain from the Hackett era, but the coaching staff is all new. Considering how disastrous the 2022 season was, a revamped coaching staff is probably a good thing for Denver’s long-term outlook.

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Robert Saleh to concentrate more on offense in effort to help fix issues

Robert Saleh to concentrate more on offense in effort to help fix issues

Jets owner Woody Johnson said before the NFL Honors that head coach Robert Saleh will concentrate more on offense to help fix the issues on that side of the ball.

“We’ve got a lot to fix, and so this year we’re gonna fix it,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said Thursday, via CBS Sports. “We’re going to get where we have to be. … Disappointment doesn’t nearly cover it. We work for the fans, and we want to do a good job for the fans. To see them disappointed like this the way we had everything going is very frustrating. Very difficult. Hard to take. … These games are very hard to take.”

Saleh let offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett take the reigns of the offense in 2023, but playcalling became a major question throughout the season following the Week 1 Achilles injury to quarterback Aaron Rodgers after the Jets tailored their offense to Rodgers throughout the offseason.

Johnson believes this will help Saleh become a better head coach while also showing plenty of faith in defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

“He is going to be a lot better head coach,” Johnson said of Saleh, via CBS. “One thing about head coaches is you get better as you get more experience. He is going to concentrate on offense. He has Jeff to do the defense. We have good special teams. It’s offense, offense, offense. Get the quarterback moving. Get the line moving. Work on the run and do all that you have to do to win. You can’t do one thing you have to do it all. It’s not just one player.”

It’s not just one player but the Jets did all they could to rally around one player. Now, it’s about getting the entire offense up and running after a season that saw one of the worst offensive outputs of any team in recent memory, leading to a second straight 7-10 season and another top-ten pick in the upcoming draft.

Johnson all but put the Jets and Saleh on full notice at the NFL Honors. He wouldn’t come out and say he’s making a true playoff mandate, but he came about as close as he could to doing so. Now Johnson adds this, more or less saying Hackett isn’t cutting it on his own and needs help. How Saleh helps navigate the offense with Rodgers at the helm will be fascinating to watch.

List of Broncos coaches since their last Super Bowl win

The Broncos are on their fifth coach since Gary Kubiak’s Super Bowl win, and their ninth coach since Mike Shanahan’s back-to-back titles.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had just three head coaches since 1969: Chuck Noll (’69-’91), Bill Cowher (’92-’06) and Mike Tomlin (’07-present). During that same period, the Denver Broncos have had 16 head coaches (including three interim coaches).

The Steelers are an anomaly — most NFL teams would love to have that kind of continuity at head coach, but finding the right man for the job is a difficult task at the highest level of football.

Denver found the perfect candidate in 2015 when they hired Gary Kubiak. He immediately won a Super Bowl in his first season with the team, but he stepped down just one season later for health reasons.

Since then, the Broncos have had five new coaches (including one interim coach). Sean Payton is the latest man to hold the job, and fans in Denver will hope he keeps the role longer than his predecessors.

Kubiak was the team’s fourth coach after Mike Shanahan won back-to-back Super Bowls. Payton will now aim to follow up in his footsteps and become the team’s third coach to win a title.

Jerry Rosburg is returning to the NFL, but not with the Broncos

Jerry Rosburg is expected to join the Ravens’ staff.

After sitting out the 2023 season, Jerry Rosburg is returning to the NFL in 2024.

The 68-year-old coach is expected to join the Baltimore Ravens “in a role focused on game management,” according to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Rosburg coached in the NFL from 2001-2018 as a special teams coordinator before retiring. The Denver Broncos asked him to come out of retirement early in the 2022 season to help struggling first-time head coach Nathaniel Hackett with clock and game management situations.

Rosburg helped the Broncos improve their clock management, but Hackett was later fired after starting the season 4-11. Rosburg then took over as an interim coach for the final two games of 2022 and went 1-1.

After getting the interim gig, Rosburg immediately fired two coaches and he also made changes to the starting lineup. Rosburg was praised by Denver’s players and he was a candidate for the head coach job in 2023, but the Broncos ultimately decided to hire Sean Payton instead.

Rosburg hinted after the 2022 season that he was ready to walk away from football again, but it appears that the Ravens have now convinced him to come out of retirement for a second time. Rosburg previously served as Baltimore’s special teams coach from 2008-2018.

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Report: Saints working to hire 49ers’ Klint Kubiak as next OC

ESPN reports the Saints are working to hire 49ers assistant Klint Kubiak as their next offensive coordinator:

There it is: ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported that the New Orleans Saints are working to hire Klint Kubiak as their next offensive coordinator. The San Francisco 49ers passing game specialist must wait until after Super Bowl LVIII to put pen to paper and start working for the Saints, but he’s the candidate the team has zeroed in on. At this point it’s just a formality.

Kubiak, 36, has called plays for the Minnesota Vikings (in 2021) and the Denver Broncos (in 2022, after Nathaniel Hackett relinquished the role). He’s coached in the NFL in various capacities since 2013, so he has plenty of experience despite his relatively young age.

So the Saints are hoping he can import some of the principles that Kyle Shanahan has put to good use in San Francisco. Between an increased reliance on play action and greater emphasis on motion, the hope is Kubiak can modernize a New Orleans offense that fell off without Drew Brees conducting it and Sean Payton drawing up plays. We’ll see if there are any hiccups in the process, but Kubiak is expected to be named the team’s new offensive coordinator.

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Woody Johnson confirms Robert Saleh, Joe Douglas to return in 2024

Jets owner Woody Johnson confirmed to the New York Post Sunday Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas will return in 2024

Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas are getting one more year in New York. Jets owner Woody Johnson confirmed to Brian Costello of the New York Post that both Saleh and Douglas will remain in their roles for the 2024 season.

“My decision is to keep them,” Johnson told the Post Sunday. “I think we’ve had some very positive moves. The culture of the team is a lot better. The defense is better. The offense needs a few pieces.”

This has been the expectation for a few weeks now as the team felt they wanted a true chance with this current regime and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who suffered an Achilles injury four plays into his debut on September 11 against the Buffalo Bills.

The Jets are set to start their fourth quarterback this season as Trevor Siemian will fill in for an injured Zach Wilson (concussion). Tim Boyle also started two games for the Jets.

“Just to keep the continuity going with Aaron and the team we’ve got,” Johnson also told the Post. “Like I said a year ago, we need a quarterback. We had a quarterback for four plays. Since then we haven’t been able to replace him. If we have a good quarterback, it makes everybody’s job easier. It makes the line better, the receivers better.”

The Jets pushed all their chips for Rodgers during the offseason and he has already made it clear he is coming back next season. He also gave Saleh, Douglas and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett a public endorsement last week while talking with Pat McAfee.

The Jets will once again be under a bright spotlight with a healthy Rodgers. Expectations will likely be extremely high once again. It’s setting up to be quite the make-or-break year for everyone involved. No regime will likely be on a hotter seat than Saleh and Douglas.

Report: No indication Jets owner Woody Johnson makes changes after season

Report: No indication Jets owner Woody Johnson makes changes after season

The Jets may be running it back in 2024 with head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, there are no indications Jets owner Woody Johnson will make a change at those positions heading into 2024.

This was starting to feel like the expected outcome. The Jets pushed all in for Aaron Rodgers and had him for all of four plays in the 2023 season. They started building this team and coaching staff around him, namely offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. The Jets at least want to see that through so Johnson is likely to give Saleh and Douglas a fair shot with Rodgers at the helm.

Rodgers gave Saleh, Douglas and Hackett a public endorsement during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show and said he hopes all come back next season as the team looks to reload, not rebuild.

“I believe in the leadership that we have here,” Rodgers said on Tuesday. “I believe in our guys. It’s not a situation where we have to rebuild. We need to reload a little bit and there’ll be some tough decisions. I like the pieces that we have in place.”

Rodgers added: “I believe in Joe Douglas. I think he’s put together a lot of great drafts and a great roster. I believe in Robert Saleh. I think he’s a fantastic coach. He’s about the right stuff. I believe in Nate Hackett. I always have. The offense that he runs is quarterback friendly.”

Hackett helped run the Green Bay offense that allowed Rodgers to win back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021. However, it was head coach Matt LaFleur who called the plays.

2024 will be the ultimate make-or-break season for the Jets. Saleh and company are likely getting one more chance. But one could argue no head coach’s seat will be hotter than Saleh’s entering next season.

6 reasons Jets missed the playoffs in 2023

6 reasons Jets missed the playoffs in 2023

The Jets had very faint playoff hopes entering Week 15. They were still mathematically alive. But a 30-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins was a prophetic way for the Jets to officially be eliminated from playoff contention.

Several factors that led to yet another disappointing season for the New York Jets, one that will end with their eighth straight losing season and 13th straight without a postseason appearance. Here are just a few of the reasons why the Jets will once again be watching the playoffs from home.