Robert Saleh: Nathaniel Hackett ‘checks every box’ for Jets, who are ‘committed’ to adding veteran QB

Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett talks with quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) before their game against the Oakland Raiders Sunday, October 21, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal S, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Jets have found the next coach to lead their offense, hiring former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator on Thursday morning.

Shortly after the hiring was announced, Jets head coach Robert Saleh met with the media and explained why Hackett was the right man for the job.

“Really excited about it,” Saleh said. “We casted a wide net, like we said we were going to. We interviewed well over 15 candidates for this position. Went to college, went to different schemes, talked to different people. A lot of really, really, really good football coaches out there, but when it came back to a certain check list that I was trying to go through just checking boxes on what we were looking for with regards to this next offensive coordinator, just kept circling back to him. He checks every box that we’re looking for. I’m not going to get into the details of it, but really, really excited about this and being able to get Nathaniel here.”

Saleh wouldn’t say what every one of those “boxes” were, but he did make one thing very clear: The Jets plan on bringing in a veteran quarterback, which is something Hackett is well aware of as he begins his tenure in New York.

“The quarterback position, obviously with all the different interviews, was the No. 1 concern, and rightfully so. It was simple: We’re committed to finding a veteran,” said Saleh. “We didn’t get into names. I doubt that he’s even studied those guys yet, which he’s going to start next week. We didn’t get specific on names, but it was talked about that we do plan on bringing in a veteran quarterback if we can. We do want to continue working with Zach (Wilson) and continuing to develop him.”

Of course, Jets fans and media members alike have already made the connection between Hackett and Aaron Rodgers, who won back-to-back MVPs with Hackett as his offensive coordinator in Green Bay.

Rodgers’ future in Green Bay is very murky, so if the 39-year-old future Hall-of-Famer does indeed get traded, the Jets seem like a more-than-logical landing spot now that Hackett is on the staff.

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However, Saleh downplayed the Rodgers connection while not mentioning any specific names.

“It’s all surface-level stuff, because it doesn’t matter what the connections are. Everyone’s got a connection to everybody in this league,” Saleh said, “but the most important thing was finding a guy who we thought could continue developing our young guys at a very high level and a guy who’s done it before, a guy who’s had success in this league with a variety of different quarterbacks. … We’re really excited about the direction that we’re going to be able to go.”

Hackett’s success with the Packers led to him being one of the hottest names on the head coaching circuit last season, but his time as the Broncos head coach came to an end after just 15 games.

While some fans may point to Hackett’s struggles in the Mile High City, Saleh explained that it’s important to look at the entire body of work, which made it clear that Hackett was right for this roster.

“You’ve got to own it, right? And it’s part of the resume and I get it, but you’ve got to have the discipline to look past recency bias,” Saleh said. “You’ve got to be able to look past whatever you want to call Denver. But the fact of the matter is that he got to Denver, and he had that opportunity because of his life’s work as an offensive coordinator and all the different things he’s done in this league and how much respect he’s garnered throughout the league in all of those different spots and all the players he’s developed in his career and all the people that he’s worked with.

“I get it. I get the sentiment from all of that stuff, but you’ve just got to be able to have the discipline to understand, like, he was a celebrated hire when he got to Denver, and it just didn’t work out. Sometimes things happen that way, but like I said, super excited about him being our offensive coordinator and getting an opportunity to work with our young guys and all the things that we’ve got going for us. “