Jeff Ulbrich told reporters on Thursday that the Jets will indeed be making a play-calling change, as passing game coordinator Todd Downing will be in charge of the offense, stripping that duty from offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
Through five games, the Jets offense has produced the same output as it did through five games with Zach Wilson last season, leading the interim head coach Ulbrich to make a change that recently fired head coach Robert Saleh was already on the cusp of making before his dismissal.
For Gio, the fact that an Aaron Rodgers ally and offensive coordinator has been stripped of his play-calling duties is about as low as it can get for Hackett, who seemingly holds little more than a title now with the Jets.
“To me, Nathaniel Hackett has to be the stone-worst coach that is employed in the NFL,” Gio said.
“He couldn’t make it through a season as a head coach, and now, after five games with Aaron Rodgers in a Jets uniform, he has been demoted.
How does he go from running an offense that is successful enough for Aaron Rodgers to win back-to-back MVPs, to now, where he gets five games as the offensive coordinator with Aaron Rodgers, and he now gets demoted? Is it because he hasn’t changed with the league?”
The Jets offense has been criticized this season for its lack of pre-snap movement and creativity when compared to more modern offenses, and Ulbrich hopes that will change with Downing now in charge of running plays.
But Gio says the quarterback deserves some criticism as well for allowing the offense to continue to be schemed in that way while Hackett was running the show.
“There is no better person to hold somebody accountable than the veteran player who has everyone’s respect,” Gio said. “He’s in those rooms too, and he’s also out on the field with them. So why is Aaron Rodgers getting a pass with all this stuff so far, when he could be doing more with the offense?”