Aaron Rodgers, Jets have a new offensive coordinator in Todd Downing

The New York Jets not only have a new head coach, but they also have a new offensive coordinator.

On Thursday, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, who replaced the fired Robert Saleh on Tuesday, announced that he is promoting passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Todd Downing to offensive coordinator starting with Monday's game against the Buffalo Bills.

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Downing replaces Nathaniel Hackett, who is a close friend of starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers and was a big reason why Rodgers wanted to play for the Jets. Hackett will remain on the coaching staff.

Ullbrich said he took "a lot of time" to ponder the change, and he said the decision was not made "easily by any means."

"This is more a by-product of a different take on things," Ulbrich said. "I'm not saying it's a better or worse take on things by any means, but just a different take on things. A fresh approach. So ultimately, Todd will have the full say on the game plan and ultimately the plays that are called within the game."

On Wednesday, Rodgers hinted at a possible shakeup with the Jets' primary play-caller on his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show." He said spoke to Ulbrich about potential fixes and would support whatever decision Ulbrich made.

Rodgers acknowledged that "there was always going to be some things that needed to change" because the Jets "haven't been playing consistent football on offense."

"When you have a couple of games, and I didn't play well in either of them, where you just don't play very efficiently, you got to adjust some things," Rodgers told McAfee. "It's a part of our game. Change is a part of our sport."

Downing, who has been with the Jets since 2023, has previously been an offensive coordinator for two NFL teams: the Oakland Raiders (2017) and Tennessee Titans (2021-2022).

"We've got to be assertive," Ulbrich said. "We've got to play with confidence. We've got to run off the ball. We've got to play on our terms. We can't be afraid of mistakes and half stepping. We've got to play this game on our terms, and I'm very confident we're going to see that Monday night."

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