On Monday, the Denver Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett following a humiliating 51-14 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Day.
The Broncos were widely expected to contend for a Super Bowl after trading for former Seattle Seahawks superstar quarterback Russell Wilson. Instead, the Broncos find themselves at 4-11, and they’ll miss the postseason for the seventh straight year.
Hackett served as the Green Bay Packers’ offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021, and it was his success with Aaron Rodgers that largely helped the former land his first NFL head coaching position.
Rodgers sounded off on the firing of his former offensive coordinator during his latest appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (h/t Essentially Sports):
“Obviously, it wasn’t a great fit in Denver for a number of reasons that I don’t think I need to bring up. But the record is what it was and the new owner decided to make a change. That’s his prerogative…Hack’s still gonna get paid. And he still got an incredible wife and family and a lot of things to be proud of. And he’s got a great friend in me still.”
The Packers recorded three straight consecutive 13-win seasons with Hackett serving as the OC, and Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021. So it’s easy to understand why the Broncos were keen on bringing in Hackett to serve as their new head coach.
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But it obviously didn’t pan out the way they expected. Hackett may not be cut out for a head coaching position, but his success in Green Bay will undoubtedly land him another assistant stint soon enough.
