The first season for New York Jets offensive line coach Keith Carter began with him taking the blame for Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tear and ended with him as the recipient of some social media barbs.
In between, his style did not seem to go over well with some Jets players, according to an ESPN story from Rich Cimini on Sunday.Privately, some players chafed at Carter’s aggressive style of coaching, saying he unfairly called out players. Sources said his most frequent target was (Mekhi) Becton, who wound up signing with the EaglesWhen the Tennessee Titans fired Mike Vrabel in January, former offensive tackle Taylor Lewan posted on Instagram that he was “blown away” that it happened, wished Vrabel well and singled out Carter: “Loved (Vrabel) as a coach (except 2018) loved his coaching staff (besides Kevin Carter) it was hard work but it was always worth it.”
In a since-deleted comment, Becton, who was drafted No. 11 overall in 2020, wrote on Lewan’s post, “Second paragraph ain’t nothing BUT FACTS” to the paragraph that mentioned Carter.
Running back Breece Hall quote-tweeted an X post that highlighted the same paragraph with five laughing emojis.Former NFL fullback Patrick DiMarco, who played for Carter with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015-16, also weighed in with a comment to Lewan’s post on Instagram: “Keith Carter was nobody’s favorite coach and I can say that with a lot of confidence.”
Carter seemed to acknowledge to reporters last week that he needs to deliver his message differently.
“We’ve got to be men of our word,” Carter said, via ESPN. “We’re asking the players to constantly improve and get better. So do we as coaches. I am, I’m a hard charger. I’m a yeller even sometimes when I don’t mean to be. So I am, I’m focusing on making sure my timing is right and I do it the right way.”Jets GM Joe Douglas did his part to repair the offensive line, signing Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses and John Simpson. It remains to be seen if Carter’s style — or his changed style — makes a difference.
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