Aaron Rodgers may have just answered the New York Jets’ biggest question following Robert Saleh‘s firing.
Reports indicated that the Jets’ players’ reaction to the move was, “How does this fix the offense?”
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Woody Johnson was grilled on this point in his conference call but declined to get into specifics, stating only that changes were coming. Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said he will take “a hard look” at the offensive responsibilities and process, and that “everything is on the table.”
The crucial point, though, was whether Rodgers would be on board with changes. His staunch support of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is well-documented and unwavering. Given the struggles of the Jets’ offense and the schematic issues therein, the most obvious solution was to fire Hackett.
Rodgers may have alluded to upcoming changes in his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. McAfee asked him about his relationship with Hackett, which he once again stated was strong.
However, “there were going to be some things that needed to change, regardless of what happened to Robert,” he said. “We just haven’t been playing consistent football on offense. As we know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
“When you have a couple of games, and obviously I didn’t play well in either of them, but we just don’t play very efficiently, you’ve got to adjust some things,” Rodgers added. “Brich [Ulbrich] and I have talked a couple of times, and I’m on board with whatever he decides as far as the offense goes. I want to do what’s best for the team, and we’re throwing our support behind Coach Ulbrich, and whatever he believes is best for the team is what we’re going to go with.”
Rodgers referred to the reports that Saleh was about to replace Hackett with quarterbacks coach Todd Downing as the play-caller. His comments make it seem that this switch will still happen and that he’s on board with it.
Rodgers noted that the most important thing is for there to be some change, specifically in player accountability. “If I’d played better on Sunday, this doesn’t happen.”
Perhaps the national media narrative will change with Rodgers’ most recent comments. More likely, it will take a change to Downing as the play-caller and concrete positive results for any shift to occur. Still, hearing Rodgers state (even if not entirely truthfully) that he’s okay with changes is a big step forward for a team flailing offensively.
