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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Last week, when everyone was still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, New York Jets offensive players walked into a team meeting and saw a photo of a roller coaster. Their faces were photoshopped onto the ride.
This was offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s doing. He did it again this week, too.
The idea: There are highs in an NFL season, in each game, and there are lows. A bit on the nose? Maybe. But that point really sunk in Monday night when the Jets fought their way back against the Buffalo Bills after Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury, and won on a walk-off punt return touchdown.
“That’s what this game is about, who can handle the adversity, who can handle the success,” Hackett said. “As a team, you want to continually grow throughout the season, you want to find out who you are. … It is a roller coaster. Because (roller coasters) are really fun but they can be very scary at times, and then you get that relief and relax. I’m a big roller-coaster guy. I really love them.”
This is all part of the Hackett experience. He calls the red zone the “gold zone,” inspired by his love for the movie “Austin Powers in Goldmember.” Wide receiver Allen Lazard said Hackett has players learn animal noises — such as whales, kangaroos, ponies and sharks — pertaining to a play. Hackett called it “word association.”
“We want to enjoy ourselves in the meetings,” Hackett said.
His methods are out there. Sometimes they resonate, like when he was Packers offensive coordinator for three years and won over players like Rodgers, Lazard, Randall Cobb and Billy Turner, who all followed him to the Jets. Sometimes they don’t work as well, like when he was the head coach of the Broncos last year, a situation that turned into a disaster. Teammates were fighting on the sideline, and the Broncos had the worst scoring offense in the league, with just 16.9 points per game. Hackett was fired after 15 games and a 4-11 record.
But he and Rodgers are close, and Rodgers has admitted Hackett was one of the primary reasons he wanted to play with the Jets. This offseason, the two of them — along with assistants like Keith Carter and Todd Downing — worked to construct an offense in Rodgers’ image. Now Rodgers is out for the year, and the keys are being handed over to Zach Wilson, the 2021 No. 2 pick.
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