Jets turn to former Vikings coach to help Aaron Rodgers escape the darkness

On Thursday, former Minnesota Vikings assistant coach Todd Downing was named the new offensive play-caller for the New York Jets in an effort to help quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the team's offense reach their full potential.

Downing's new role as New York's offensive play-caller will be in addition to his duties that already existed as the team's quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

The move is the latest big change the Jets have made to their coaching staff within the past few days, as the team also fired Robert Saleh as its head coach on Tuesday. Some believed Saleh was fired in part because he was going to make Downing New York's new offensive play-caller, so Thursday's announcement only created more confusion about his departure.

Can former Minnesota Vikings coach Todd Downing fix New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers?

Downing, a native of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, got his first coaching gig in the NFL as an offensive quality control coach for the Vikings in 2005. Several years later, he returned to Minnesota in 2018 to be the team's tight ends coach.

In addition to working for the Vikings, Downing also had coaching stints with the St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, and Tennessee Titans. The Jets brought him in last season to be the team's passing game coordinator, and earlier this year, he was named New York's quarterbacks coach.

Downing has been an offensive play-caller in the NFL in the past, as he had the role when he was the Raiders offensive coordinator in 2017 and the Titans offensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022.

His best performance as a play-caller took place during the 2021 season when he helped Tennessee's offense rank 14th in the league in points scored per offensive drive. In 2017 and 2022, his offenses ranked 21st and 28th, respectively, in points scored per offensive drive.

New York is now hoping Downing can help revive Rodgers and a Jets offense that currently ranks 27th in the NFL in points scored per game, 27th in net yards per pass attempt, and 30th in rushing yards per carry.

Calling plays to help Rodgers get back on track will likely be a point of emphasis for the former Vikings assistant coach. New York's quarterback has an underwhelming 81.6 passer rating in the team's first five games this year, which is the lowest passer rating he's ever had in his entire NFL career when starting in his team's opening five matchups of a season.

Will Downing be the one to help Rodgers rediscover some of his old magic, or will the Jets' offense just continue to be one of the worst in the NFL this year?

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