About a month after he said he would continue to call offensive plays, Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett has had a change of heart. Per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, Hackett is ceding play-calling duties to quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak.
Denver’s 3-6 record qualifies as one of the league’s biggest disappointments in 2022, as the team made a blockbuster offseason trade to acquire quarterback Russell Wilson and entered the campaign with Super Bowl aspirations. Early-season missteps earned Hackett, a first-year head coach, plenty of criticism and compelled him to hire Jerry Rosburg out of retirement to assist with gameday management. But mounting injuries and persistent offensive struggles have conspired to keep the Broncos out of the playoff picture, and now Kubiak will have a larger role in the club’s efforts to make a second-half run.
Kubiak, 35, is the son of longtime NFL offensive coordinator and head coach Gary Kubiak. In 2021, the younger Kubiak served as the play-caller and OC for the Vikings, who finished 12th in the league in total offense and 14th in yards per game. Per Pelissero, that experience is what prompted Hackett to tab Klint Kubiak as Denver’s new play-caller, and both men, along with offensive coordinator Justin Outten, will be heavily involved in game-planning. Hackett and Outten will of course remain on the headset during games, though Kubiak will now be the primary voice in Wilson’s ear.
Pelissero adds that Wilson and Kubiak have formed a strong relationship despite the team’s struggles. However, they will have their work cut out for them, as the Broncos have 15 players on injured reserve, including key offensive contributors like left tackle Garett Bolles and running back Javonte Williams. Moreover, receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler will miss Sunday’s contest against the Raiders due to injury.
As of the time of this writing, Denver is last in the league in points per game, and Wilson has completed a career-worst 57.4% of his passes en route to a poor 81.4 QB rating. On the other hand, the Broncos are in the middle of the pack in terms of total offense, so there is some hope that a different play-calling approach will put more points on the board. And although the deadline trade of pass rusher Bradley Chubb will sting, the team is tops in the NFL in scoring defense, second in total defense, and its six losses have come by an average of five points. All of that provides further hope for a turnaround.
Hackett really had no choice but to make this move. Rumors are already swirling that he may be a one-and-done head coach, and the Rosburg hire, along with the pivot to Kubiak as play-caller, at least demonstrates that he is willing to put ego aside for the betterment of the team. Last year, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni ceded play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Shane Steichen in the middle of the season, and Philadelphia’s offense was much-improved after the switch. In 2022, the 8-1 Eagles continue to thrive, so there is recent precedent for Hackett and Broncos fans to dream on.
What?
How dysfunctional is this staff that neither the offensive minded head coach nor the offensive coordinator are calling plays, instead its delegated to the qb coach? Lol
They might as well have Brittany Bowlen calling plays at this point.
Lol, too late now the dope
If the broncos fire Hackett after the season, I hope he goes back to GB. He was actually I really good coordinator for the pack. Way better than the O Coord they have now
Was he good or lucky to have AR as QB? A sincere question.
Lafleur I believe has been calling the plays since he became HC. I know each situation is different, but whats the role of an OC when the play calls from the HC. Weekly game plan? Protection packages? Or just managing the WR, OL, RB coaches? During 19-21 you had Luke Getsy as QB coach and passing coordinator, so what was Hackett’s role as OC then also?
He was lucky to have arod.
Hackett and Russel must go, this team continues to make mistakes.
Nepotism is alive and well in the NFL.
Klimt Kubiak apparently is well thought of, albeit in a very young career. I don’t see why he would disqualified simply due to his family ties.
The track record of sons trying to match their father’s achievements is rather dismal. Mark Davis is certainly no Al Davis. Bruce Allen was no George Allen. I think Wade Phillips is probably respected as much as his dad Bum, but those tend to be exceptions.
New rule for NFL: Hire head coaches over the age of 55 and a minimum of ~15 years of coaching/coordinator resume to avoid ‘hip, player-friendly, unknown’ Doofuses like McVay and Hackett!
The guys you’re suggesting don’t have a great hit rate either. Maybe just avoid hiring guys who were only ever highly regarded because they were “effective” offensive coordinators while working with hall of fame QBs and offensive minded head coaches who were in full stride before they arrived.
The NFL’s goal is to make everyone who can wear a whistle or hold a piece of chalk a coach.
Odd pairing.
A doofus who can’t manage his own game clock or play calling…and…a “doofus” who has been to two Super Boels in recent years, winning one.
Over 55? LOL. Most of the most successful HCs of all time (Lombardi, Landry, Shula, Noll, Madden, Bellichik, Gibbs.. to name a few) got their start as head coaches in their early 40’s or younger. If you haven’t already been a HC by the age of 55 you most likely are not cut out for it.
Word out of Denver a few days ago was Russell Wilson was using the Seahawks’ audible codes rather than the Broncos audible codes. Perhaps the new OC will have the proper audible codes for today’s game.
A little off topic but the Bronco’s should be looking into signing Nathan Rourke from the CFL. He is young and has all the tools to be a great QB. He was the best QB in the CFL and has an accurate, strong arm and is mobile. If they signed him I’d bet he’d supplant Wilson before next season.
Firing Hackett would beg the question who the interim coach would be. Hackett’s staff was noted as being notoriously inexperienced when he came on, which a few pundits saw as a potential issue from the get go. This issue was spotlighted when the team hired Rosburg to handle the more experience-related aspects of game management, like clock related things. There’s not really anyone else on the staff right now who could take over comfortably with experience. That’s likely one reason that Denver has been hesitant to let Hackett go.
If they fired him today, Ejiro Evero is likely the best candidate to fill in as interim. He does not have much experience, but he has run the defense admirably in what seems to be a chaotic and dysfunctional environment. If he does get the opportunity to step in, he may be able to parlay the experience into a head coaching job elsewhere (or, rightfully in Denver). Evero is in my opinion already on several teams’ radars, even without the multi-year experience that would be desirable in a HC hire. Of course, in my opinion, Denver should have stuck with Fangio if they wanted a veteran QB, even with Hackett being part of the Aaron Rodgers gamble.
As it stands now, hiring a veteran offensive coordinator to try and reign in Wilson, paired with the elevation of Evero, seems to be the best plan for Denver in the event that they move on from Hackett.
Interim Coach?…Mark Schlereth!
I imagine Vic Fangio is quite relieved to be clear of that mess in Denver.
LOL, right? Him and Elway. Elway is still there but nobody can throw a chair at him for the QB situation anymore.
I don’t care as long as they can score a touchdown in the 2nd half.
Are Denver and the Raiders now competing to see who can suck more than the other?
Maybe they should trade coaches..then McDaniels can bring back Tebow, and Hackett can push Raiders management/Mark Davis to trade for Rodgers. He reunites with Adams, Denver continues to stink, and GB gives everyone what they want…a chance to draft Graham Mertz to be their next HOF signal caller!
I think the Broncos have an excuse in that they are going through the upheaval that generally follows in the wake of an ownership change. The move to Vegas was suppose to usher in a new era of success for the Raiders but they haven’t come close to living up to that hype.