The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Monday morning that they are firing their offensive coordinator. Nathaniel Hackett was the Jaguars offensive coordinator since 2016. Prior to that, he was the team’s quarterbacks coach from 2015 to 2016. Jacksonville has now lost seven straight games and sits at 3-8 on the season. There are multiple reasons for the team’s offensive struggles this season. Chief among them is the struggles of fifth-year signal caller Blake Bortles. But head coach Doug Marrone obviously felt it was time to make a change.
We have relieved Nathaniel Hackett of his duties as offensive coordinator. pic.twitter.com/Uo1STVn3aa
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) November 26, 2018
Nathaniel Hackett Fired by Jacksonville Jaguars
Hackett has been alongside Marrone for a long time. He was with Marrone with the Buffalo Bills and also Syracuse. But the Jaguars offense has been sputtering and the offensive coordinator is usually the first to go in a situation like this. The Jaguars currently rank in the lower tier of the NFL offensively in many categories. According to NFL.com, they rank 28th in points (17.9 per game), 22nd in yards (346.5 per game), 22nd in passing yards (232.3 per game), and 16th in rushing yards (114.2 per game).
It’s not too surprising that Hackett is no longer with the team. But the man was dealt a bad hand, especially this year. Though Bortles is a fifth-year quarterback, he is one of the worst in the league and likely won’t be a starter in the NFL much longer. There have also been numerous offensive injuries this season. Marqise Lee, Cam Robinson, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brandon Linder, and Leonard Fournette are all impact players and have missed multiple games. Lee didn’t play a single snap this season due to a knee injury in week three of the preseason. But coaches are expected to make do with what they have and 17.9 points per game won’t cut it.
Besides all of the injuries, some would say that Hackett was not the greatest play caller. Regardless of the merits of Hackett’s firing, time will tell what kind of success the Jaguars will get going forward. The team has five games left this season and a long off-season ahead.
