Denver Broncos head coach couldn’t hack it | Nathaniel Hackett out in the Rockies after the 4-11 season
The addition of quarterback Russell Wilson and first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett led many to believe the Denver Broncos would be a playoff team and maybe even a Super Bowl contender.
Why was Nathaniel Hackett fired?
After just 15 games and a 4-11 record, that hope is over as Hackett was relieved of his duties on Monday, just one day after the team’s embarrassing Christmas Day 51-14 loss to the Rams. The Broncos long ago gave up on Hackett, but Sunday just found out more of what we knew about it.
On Monday, Carrie Walton Penner, of the new Walton-Penner ownership groups, said in a statement:
“After extensive conversations with general manager George Paton and our ownership group, we decided that a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos. This change was team now out of respect for everyone involved and allows us to immediately begin the search for a new head coach.
“Going forward, we will carefully evaluate all aspects of our football operations and make the changes necessary to restore this franchise’s winning tradition.”
Hackett doomed from the start
Hackett was employed by the aforementioned GM Paton. He was chosen over current Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who is 12-3 in his first season in Minneapolis. Paton reportedly had the final call, choosing Hackett. Broncos legend and president of football operations John Elway hinted that the decision was up until the end. And the Broncos picked the wrong guy to lead their team.
With Russell Wilson struggling, is the curtain already closing on Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett? | John Elway says team almost hired Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell for position
Hackett’s tenure as head coach of the Broncos got off to a very rocky start. In the team’s opening night 17-16 loss to the Seahawks, a team the aforementioned Wilson spent ten highly successful seasons with, Hackett took the ball out of the hands of the star signal caller with the game hanging in the balance. He chose instead to let the field goal kicker try a 64-meter which he missed. Essentially, he took Wilson’s moment away from him, and that move seemed to have a negative effect on the team from then on. Despite winning the next two games, things just didn’t seem right. That move backfired and basically told his team he didn’t believe in Wilson when the Broncos were mortgaging their future for him to play in those situations.
Why was Russell Wilson so bad this season?
For a franchise that has cycled through 11 failed quarterbacks since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 season, Wilson was supposed to be the cure.
That happened not in part because of any regression on Wilson’s part, but more because Hackett is still trying to run the same offense he ran in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers. An offense he didn’t even call plays into. It never worked, and Wilson struggled mightily with the scheme not highlighting his skills.
Hackett lost the team
There were several sideline blowups between players, with one even occurring in Sunday’s loss. It was just a circus under Hackett after not even a full season.
From NFL Now: #Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired before the end of his first season for many reasons. Losing control of the team on Sunday was a big deal. pic.twitter.com/JtXLjCcMOr
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) 26 December 2022
From the jump, Hackett was just another offensive line coach considered to be the best thing since sliced bread, and he fell flat on his face.
Hackett on the wrong side of history
With the firing, Hackett makes a roster like no other want to be a part of. The now-former Broncos head coach becomes the seventh head coach to sit out an entire NFL season. He joins George Allen, Pete McCulley, Lou Holtz, Bobby Petrino, Urban Meyer and Bill Belichick, who retired after one day as head coach of the New York Jets before heading to New England to begin his dynasty.
Hackett will likely land on his feet and end up as another team’s offensive coordinator, but his tenure as an NFL head coach lasted just 15 games.
Not everyone is a leader of men.
