QB Aaron Rodgers was asked about Jets offensive coordinator Hackett’s detractors last week on SiriusXM MadDog Radio:
“You should trust me and I trust Nathaniel,” Rodgers said. “So, to me, that’s the end of the story.”
Some Jets fans might be skeptical regarding Rodgers trusting former colleagues from Green Bay.
But with Hackett, Rodgers probably deserves the trust, because quite honestly, it’s no secret that Rodgers is essentially the co-offensive coordinator. Rodgers is very good at getting the play from the sideline and making checks at the line based on the defensive look.
“At the end of the day, his and my partnership is one that’s been fruitful in the past, and it’s gonna be fruitful again,” Rodgers said on SiriusXM.
Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards (2020, 2021) with Hackett in Green Bay.
Some might argue that while Hackett had the title of “offensive coordinator” in Green Bay, head coach Matt LaFleur was the main play-caller.
However, Hackett was very involved in that offense, and in Rodgers’ last year in Green Bay (2022), after Hackett left to take the Denver head coaching job, the Packers’ offense took a step back. The Rodgers-LaFleur offensive partnership wasn’t nearly as good without Hackett as a buffer.
“There’s been a lot of BS that’s been said out there,” Rodgers said about Hackett. “There’s a lot of things that have gone on the last couple of years that he’s dealt with that I think he’s handled very professionally. And at the end of the day, I think you gotta trust his and my working relationship.”
Is Hackett Bill Walsh or Kyle Shanahan as a play-caller, perhaps not, but he is a good partner for Rodgers.
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