The New York Jets’ odds of winning the Super Bowl plummeted after quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in the first week of the season.
The Jets drove much of the preseason NFL betting thanks to their trade for Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers. The injury forced Zach Wilson back into the starting lineup during a season where he was expected to ride the bench and watch one of the all-time greats.
Things were a lot worse than people actually saw.
In speaking to 30 sources in and around the team, The Athletic is revealing deeper issues that further sabotaged the Jets’ efforts to survive without Rodgers under center.
Per The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini, one Jets coach described the things as “such a f–king mess” behind the scenes and “something has to change.”
The report described Rodgers as the de facto general manager, while his hand-picked offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, is accused of losing players’ trust. One AFC general manager described Joe Douglas as the “assistant GM” to Rodgers.
Many could see that several of the players signed by the Jets last offseason were teammates with Rodgers on the Green Bay Packers. They brought in Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard, Tim Boyle, and Billy Turner.
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It further states head coach Robert Saleh is accused of being obsessed with negative press, and although he tended to have Zach Wilson’s back publicly with the media, he’s alleged to have blamed Rodgers’ backup privately for the Jets’ struggles.
Robert Saleh was said to be unhappy that the New York Giants “don’t get as much negative coverage as the Jets, calling it unfair.”
Among the many issues for the Jets during the 2023 season detailed in the report are “a paranoid head coach, an ill-equipped offensive coordinator, and an organizational tunnel vision on the quarterback that rubbed some teammates wrong.”
Rosenblatt and Russini noted Hackett was Rodgers’ “hand-picked offensive coordinator” and the dynamic between the two is described as “more frat brothers than player/coach,” but Hackett’s attention to detail on the field was “lacking.”
“For most of the season, Hackett would meet with offensive line coach/running game coordinator Keith Carter and passing game coordinator Todd Downing during the week but wouldn’t get together with the rest of the offensive staff until the ‘last minute’ of game prep,” Rosenblatt and Russini wrote.
Despite all of these issues, the New York Jets 2024 season depends on the health of Aaron Rodgers, and from what we saw after his injury, he will most definitely be ready to play by Week 1.
