Maybe Hackett Could Fix Fool’s Gold Zone

The Green Bay Packers were bad all season in the red zone. Maybe Nathaniel Hackett could return and work his magic.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jan 11, 2023 12:53 PM EST

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 2020, when the Green Bay Packers led the NFL in scoring and Aaron Rodgers won MVP, they played on a shorter field than everyone else.

That season, the Packers scored touchdowns on 80 percent of their red zone possessions. Essentially, once Green Bay got to the 20-yard line, it was six points. The NFL has red zone data dating to 1999. That 80 percent success rate was the best during that span. Given how the rules have become more slanted to the offense, that means it was perhaps the best in NFL history.

In 2021, Green Bay regressed to a 19th-ranked 58.6 percent.

Still, combining those two seasons, the Packers scored touchdowns on 68.5 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line, third-best in the NFL and not far behind the Titans’ top-ranked 69.6 percent.

Back then, with Nathaniel Hackett helping run the show as offensive coordinator, it was the gold zone. This year, with Hackett off to Denver for a failed attempt as head coach, the gold zone became the fool’s gold zone. The Packers were a woeful 24th with a touchdown rate of 51.9 percent. That includes failing to punch it in on a first-and-goal at the 5 in Sunday season-killing loss to the Detroit Lions.

“I would say that there’s a lot that we have to study this offseason,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday. “Whether it was poor play design or lack of execution or all of the above, it wasn’t good enough. We did a piss-poor job in the red zone.”

One man might know about play design is Hackett, who was fired by the Broncos and is a coaching free agent. LaFleur and Hackett have talked since Hackett’s firing, though that was more of a social call than a job interview. LaFleur said on Monday said it’s his “intention” to bring back the coaching staff, so Hackett would have to return in a new capacity.

“I think you can never have enough great coaches, and certainly you guys know how I feel about Nathaniel and the job he did here,” LaFleur said.

The “gold zone” might have been a cheesy gimmick – not unlike “we-fense” – but whatever it takes to turn three points into seven. The movie Austin Powers in Goldmember was the inspiration to Hackett.

“I don’t know if anybody’s seen the movie,” Hackett said in 2020. “It’s an Austin Powers movie. Big fan of Austin Powers. Really enjoyed those. And Goldmember is one of those guys that, he loves gold. And I think you’ve got to respect somebody that really loves gold. And for us, when you get inside the 20-yard line, you have a chance to score touchdowns.

“We score, everybody gets gold. … I think that’s something that the guys have really bought into and they’ve learned to love and appreciate Goldmember and what he believes in, and we believe in a lot of the same stuff. Not the bad villain stuff but the get-the-gold stuff.”

The Packers left a lot of gold in the mine this season. Somehow, the closer they got to the end zone, the worse they got, with Green Bay ranking last in the league with 50.0 percent touchdowns in goal-to-go situations. Only one team had a worse goal-to-go track record over the last five seasons. That’s what happened on Green Bay’s opening possession, with the Packers cruising the first 74 yards but unable to get the final five. Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon were stuffed on runs and Aaron Rodgers’ scramble-drill pass to Dillon fell incomplete. So, they settled for a chip-shot field goal.

Green Bay had only two red-zone opportunities vs. Detroit but got inside the Lions’ 35 on six occasions but scored just one touchdown.

“I’ve said it before: Sometimes you kick enough field goals and you’re going to get yourself beat, and that’s kind of what happened,” LaFleur said. “I felt like for a lot of the game we were able to move the football, and then in some critical situations couldn’t convert. Had a turnover [by Aaron Jones while approaching the red zone]. You can’t do that in these types of games.”

In 2020, Rodgers led the NFL with 35 touchdowns, zero interceptions, a 72.0 percent completion rate and 119.1 passer rating in the red zone. Plus, Jones had seven rushing touchdowns. This year, Rodgers had 17 touchdowns, two interceptions, a 60.0 percent completion rate and 95.6 rating. Jones had only two rushing touchdowns.

Maybe Hackett, who Rodgers loved as much for his ability to “motivate and inspire” as his coaching acumen, could rescue the Packers from the equivalent of another move: The Longest Yard. Or, the 2022 Packers spinoff, The Longest 20 Yards.

“We squandered our opportunities in the red zone, were terrible on third down,” Rodgers said on Sunday. “The same things that hurt us all year hurt us tonight. But there’s a lot that goes into that, and we just didn’t fix it all season. Had a decent stretch at times, but third down and red zone, we’ve made a lot of hay over the years in those situations and didn’t do it.”