{"id":184347,"date":"2023-01-12T06:46:13","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T06:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/jets-offensive-coordinator-candidates-nathaniel-hackett-kliff-kingsbury-and-14-others\/"},"modified":"2023-01-12T06:46:13","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T06:46:13","slug":"jets-offensive-coordinator-candidates-nathaniel-hackett-kliff-kingsbury-and-14-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/jets-offensive-coordinator-candidates-nathaniel-hackett-kliff-kingsbury-and-14-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Jets offensive coordinator candidates: Nathaniel Hackett, Kliff Kingsbury and 14 others"},"content":{"rendered":"
In November, Mike LaFleur was listed as a future head coaching candidate by NFL.com. By January, he was out as the Jets’ offensive coordinator.<\/p>\n
The Jets and LaFleur on Wednesday mutually agreed to part ways, according to a team official not authorized to speak publicly about the decision.<\/p>\n
The news came three days after an ugly 11-6, season-ending loss to the Dolphins in Miami. It capped a terrible offensive stretch to end the season for the Jets, which ultimately cost LaFleur his job after two years. The Jets (7-10) didn’t score a touchdown in their final three games and averaged 11 points per game over the six-game losing skid, which was only made worse by how well the Jets’ defense played for most of the season . Quarterback Zach Wilson led the Jets with six passing touchdowns, and rookie running back Breece Hall led with 463 rushing yards \u2014 and the injured Hall didn’t play after Week 7.<\/p>\n
GO DEEPER<\/p>\n
The Jets missed Mekhi Becton, Breece Hall and AVT \u2014 and they’ll need them in 2023<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Recently, Robert Saleh made it clear he felt LaFleur deserved a chance to stick around \u2014 49ers fans called for Saleh to be fired after his second season as defensive coordinator in San Francisco, but he wasn’t \u2014 so it’s fair to wonder if owner Woody Johnson pushed the coach to move on from LaFleur. Ultimately, the Jets offense wasn’t good enough, though, and LaFleur paid the price.<\/p>\n
Now, Saleh will likely seek to fill the role with a veteran coach with play-calling experience as he enters a 2023 season where anything short of making the playoffs won’t be good enough. The Jets want to develop Wilson into an NFL-caliber quarterback, though they will likely try bringing in a veteran quarterback to steer a moribund offense. Any offensive coordinator Saleh hires must understand that if things do n’t turn around in 2023, Saleh and his staff might be looking for new jobs at this time next year.<\/p>\n
So who are some candidates?<\/p>\n
We came up with a list of 16 who make sense, listed in alphabetical order.<\/p>\n
Darrell Bevell (Dolphins QBs coach\/passing game coordinator)<\/strong>: The 53-year-old has been the offensive coordinator for four teams, including the Seahawks when Saleh was on staff. This season, he’s worked with Mike McDaniel, who comes from the Kyle Shanahan tree, so the fit would be more seamless than some of the other veteran coaches on this list.<\/p>\n Tom Clements (Packers QBs coach)<\/strong>: The 69-year-old has been the Bills and Packers offensive coordinator and would be coming from the staff of Matt LaFleur, one of Saleh’s closest friends.<\/p>\n Nathaniel Hackett (ex-Broncos head coach)<\/strong>: He turned into an object of mockery, fired in less than one season in Denver. But before that he was a highly regarded offensive coordinator for the Packers \u2014 for Saleh’s friend Matt LaFleur. He also was the OC for the Jaguars from 2016-18, and Jacksonville’s QBs coach before that. He and Saleh were on the same staff in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n Pep Hamilton (Texans offensive coordinator)<\/strong>: The 48-year-old ran a disjointed offense in Houston, though like LaFleur, he didn’t have much to work with at quarterback. He also was the offensive coordinator for the Colts in 2013-15 and has a reputation around the league for developing quarterbacks.<\/p>\n Brian Johnson (Eagles QBs coach):<\/strong> The 35-year old has only been an offensive coordinator at the college level (at Florida in 2020) but he’s considered a coach on the rise and played a major role in Jalen Hurts’ development into an MVP candidate.<\/p>\n Kliff Kingsbury (ex-Cardinals head coach)<\/strong>: Once upon a time the Jets tried hiring him as head coach, so it’s conceivable Johnson might want to bring someone like him on board to help Saleh. Kingsbury will be paid by the Cardinals for a few more years, so he might not be in a rush to work.<\/p>\n GO DEEPER<\/p>\n How the Cardinals’ season of misery led to the end of the Kliff Kingsbury experiment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Gary Kubiak (retired former head coach)<\/strong>: The 61-year-old Kubiak announced his retirement in 2021 and he’s unlikely to come out of it to call plays again. But he gave Saleh his first NFL coaching job and would be an ideal candidate to come in as a senior offensive assistant to help get the offense back on track. He might be more willing to work again if the Jets hired the next candidate on this list. \u2026<\/p>\n Klint Kubiak (Broncos passing game coordinator\/QBs coach)<\/strong>: Saleh never technically worked with Kubiak, Gary Kubiak’s son, but he certainly knows him well from the ties to his father. The Broncos will be hiring a new coaching staff so this Kubiak will likely be looking for work. He does n’t have play-calling experience but he could still come onto the staff in some capacity (passing game coordinator? QBs coach?) To help rebuild the offense.<\/p>\n Ben McAdoo (Panthers offensive coordinator)<\/strong>: The Panthers might just keep interim head coach Steve Wilks on full time, which would mean McAdoo would likely stay with the Panthers. But if not, McAdoo deserves a lot of credit for developing Sam Darnold into a solid NFL quarterback and he has plenty of play-calling experience from Carolina and his days with the Giants.<\/p>\n