Chiefs’ Mecole Hardman Rips Jets’ Offense After Midseason Trade: ‘No Standard There’

Doric SamFebruary 27, 2024

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Before Mecole Hardman became a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs this past season, he had a stint with the New York Jets that didn’t go very well.

During an appearance on The Pivot (1:08:00 mark), Hardman opened up about the issues the Jets faced under offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett after star quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles in the season opener (h/t ESPN’s Rich Cimini):

“You just got a new [offensive] coaching staff that came in and there’s no standard there. Everybody does what they want to do. Granted, the defense has more of a stabilized standard with the coaching staff on that side, so the defense has a standard. But the offense is just like, ‘We’ll just figure it out. It’s Aaron’s show. Let Aaron do what Aaron does.’ Then when Aaron goes down, it’s like we don’t know what to do.”

Hardman signed a one-year deal with the Jets last March but caught only one pass in five games before being traded back to the Chiefs in October. Cimini noted that Hardman said a dispute with Jets special teams coach Brant Boyer prompted him to reach out to Kansas City.

“I was so checked out, like, it was over with,” Hardman said. “I had already talked to [general manager Brett] Veach and Pat [Mahomes], like, ‘Come get me.'”

After returning to the team with whom he spent the first four seasons of his career, Hardman wound up catching the game-winning pass in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII to give the Chiefs the win over the San Francisco 49ers and earn his third championship ring. It was a perfect way for him to end the year after his disastrous start to the season in New York.