When asked about whether or not other teams besides the Jets might have been interested in his service if Green Bay moved on, Aaron Rodgers told Pat McAfee that there might have been, but the Jets did have one big advantage – even if he didn’t see it as such.
“There’s one coach who means as much to me as any other coach I’ve ever had, and he’s the coordinator there,” Rodgers said, referencing the Jets’ recent hire of Nathanial Hackett as offensive coordinator. “It didn’t matter at the time, but there was obviously an interest from them.”
That said, he had some strong words for those who might be saying that the Jets only hired Hackett, who was fired less than a season into his stint as head coach of the Broncos, as a concession in an attempt to recruit Rodgers.
“I take offense to that, because that diminishes the ability he has to coach football and connect with people, which, to me, is an objective reality,” Rodgers told McAfee. “Anyone who has been around Nathaniel Hackett knows he brings a lot of energy and fun and is an incredible teacher of the game, especially at the quarterback position, and he’s a great human being.”
Hackett was the OC in Green Bay from x-x, so he and Rodgers have a great relationship, and it’s curious that the losses of Hackett and No.
1 receiver Davante Adams saw Aaron go from back-to-back MVPs to one of the worst seasons of his career.
Some people just click, but if you think the Jets are playing chess while others are playing checkers when it comes to Hackett, Rodgers says think again.
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“People saying that was done just to lure me are doing a total disservice to Nathaniel and what he’s done in his career,” Rodgers said. “He’s a great human being and football coach, and I think Robert Saleh and Woody Johnson can understand that. Saying they did it just to attempt to lure me is a disservice to Nathaniel and to the Jets organization in general.”
That said, Rodgers did admit that Hackett was one of the Jets reps who came to California for what was about a four-hour meeting, along with Johnson, Saleh, GM Joe Douglas, and “the money guy,” which is what he called WHO.
All he’d say about that meeting, though, was it was a “very relaxed, easy, and good conversation,” choosing to refer to his house like Las Vegas.
“Robert (Saleh) was interested about the darkness…but there’s a sanctuary of solace that surrounds my house, and it demands some of the conversations that happen inside it be given the proper privacy.”
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