4:00pm: The Broncos have gone with senior assistant Jerry Rosburg as their interim HC to close out the season, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets and the team has since confirmed. The veteran coach was hired in September to assist with in-game operations and decisions, including clock management. The 67-year-old’s background is in special teams, including stints with the Browns, Falcons and, for one decade, the Ravens; he will oversee the team’s staff in all three phases.
Pelissero adds that the interim HC role was originally offered to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who has become a prime candidate for a full-time head coaching gig given his performance in 2022 (Twitter link). He has instead decided to remain the DC to close out the campaign, as he heads towards what will likely be a busy offseason filled with interest from Denver and elsewhere.
11:45am: After yet another disastrous performance in front of a national audience, Nathaniel Hackett‘s time in Denver is coming to an end. The first-year head coach has been fired by the Broncos, reports Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). The team has confirmed the decision. 
Hackett has become just the fifth coach in league history to have his first season as a bench boss come to an end before the campaign is completed. Denver sits a 4-11 on the year after yesterday’s 51-14 loss to the shorthanded Rams. That qualifies them as one of, if not the largest disappointments in the league considering the expectations surrounding the team heading into the fall.
Hackett was hired with the intention of reviving the Broncos’ offense, a unit which was seen as by far the weak point on an otherwise capable team. That, coupled with the trade for, and extension of, quarterback Russell Wilson, was presumed to put the organization on a path to success on both sides of the ball. Instead, the team ranks dead last in the NFL with an average of just 15.5 points per game. Improvement has generally not been seen even after Hackett ceded play-calling duties to QBs coach Klint Kubiak in November.
As offensive struggles (including several shockingly poor performances by Wilson), injuries and a lack of consistency continued to pile up, expectations grew over the passing weeks that Hackett would be let go at some point. The matter of whether or not he would be fired before the end of the campaign was a matter of debate, but questions on that subject have now been answered. Denver will now join the Panthers and Colts in their search for a long-term replacement.
A statement from team owner Greg Penner reads in part, “We sincerely appreciate Nathaniel’s efforts and wish him and his family all the best in the future. Following extensive conversations with [GM] George [Paton] and our ownership group, we determined a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos… We recognize and appreciate this organization’s championship history, and we understand we have not met that standard.
“Moving forward, we will carefully evaluate every aspect of our football operations and make whatever changes are necessary to restore this franchise’s winning tradition. I will lead our head coaching search with support from our ownership group and George, whom I have confidence in as our general manager.”
That final sentence is noteworthy, as Paton has drawn sharp criticism this season for his role in the decisions to hire Hackett and acquire Wilson. Conflicting reports have emerged recently regarding whether or not Paton’s tenure would be cut short after only two seasons at the helm in the Mile High City. A public vote of confidence from the team’s new ownership group bodes well for his job security in at least the short-term future.
Nevertheless, Paton and the rest of the Broncos’ front office will be under intense scrutiny in the coming months as they look to undo the damage caused by Hackett’s hiring. Wilson is under contract through 2028 as a result of the mega-extension he signed before making his regular season debut with Denver this fall, so he is tied to the franchise for years to come. That, along with coaching uncertainty for the second straight offseason will leave a significant stain on the 2022 season for the Broncos, the sixth straight in which they have produced a losing record.
Hackett, meanwhile, is unlikely to find himself on the head coaching radar anytime soon. The total inability of the Broncos to find consistency on offense in particular and build any momentum during the season suggests he is best suited as an offensive coordinator, the role he held for eight total years with the Bills, Jaguars and Packers before taking the Denver gig this offseason.
Hackett couldn’t hack it as a head coach
I just can’t believe the guy that rode the coattails of Lafluer and Rodgers didn’t end up being a good HC.
How have they done without Hackett?
you spelled Davante Adams wrong.
They have cause to want a change. But so much for the NFL’s “let’s show in-season restraint” statement they put out last week.
When players say to the press that they weren’t prepared, the writing was on the wall.
Well, that went well.
Stunning to see two straight seasons with a coach who didn’t even make it to a full one and done. What an absolute disaster. Gotta be awkward that Evero came to Denver because of his years long friendship with Hackett and is now a rising star coach, while Hackett’s star has fully imploded.
The worst development here for Denver is that Evero appears to be not even remotely interested in taking their top job.
Imagine Tom Landry, Chuck Noll and bill Walsh being rookie head coaches in 2022. Their 1st years were way way worse than Hackets. They’d be fired too
Yeah, except those coaches were clearly leading rebuilding teams and didn’t toxify the locker room, unlike Hackett and Meyer, respectively
Might want to look at upper management not just the head coach. The Wilson trade was one of the worst ever…
As much as it may have been, upper management has done a great job filling out the rest of the roster. The Gregory deal and Wilson are the two exceptions-unfortunately, they’re really bad ones. The roster does not have an obvious weakness where talent must be added, unless you consider quarterback to be such. It is not inconceivable that a veteran coach with the pedigree to do so and the backbone to bench Wilson if needed could reign him in and improve the team. Not guaranteed, but not inconceivable.
You mean BEST trades ever. I’m happy with it. Wilson can go whine himself into mediocrity.
Why what he do?
Exactly.
16 Games to late
Too*
two? or 2?
Good luck getting a quality candidate to replace him knowing they’ll be stuck with Russell Wilson who is now very expensive hot garbage.
Because of the atrocious QB play and contract tied to it, this has to be the least desirable vacancy maybe ever.
You have the Broncos confused with the Cardinals. Yes the Wilson contract looks bad. But Murray is a pouting cry baby. They have no cap room. And a defense that has to improved in every level.
Cardinals just need a total house cleaning, starting with the GM, HC and QB. Murray is not a topflight QB. Cards need to invest into a top HC, yes I am saying someone along the lines of Sean Payton. Bidwell really does’nt have a choice. Fans will start disappearing, Bidwell needs to put butts in the seat. Payton would do the job, giving him cart blanche when it comes to the roster.
And lack of draft capital
They do have first and two thirds. They are gonna to choose what’s more important right now.
Guess they want to start the job search early.
Oh, I didn’t know Hackett played QB too,
I didn’t know Wilson was in charge with coming up with a competent game plan.
They had to lose Hackett. Even if the team is plagued by injuries, Wilson’s throwing like he’s got one eye…It doesn’t matter.
If they kept Hackett around for another year, ticket sales wouldn’t happen. That’s the bottom line. They wouldn’t have to worry about people not sticking around for overtime, nobody would show up.
I don’t like the idea of changing directions without a solution, but this was inevitable. Hopefully, they know something the media doesn’t about replacements. I’m tired of hearing about Dan Quinn.
Lol. Sometimes I do wonder if he just needs new corrective lenses. Lots of nice throws.. to nobody..
Seriously, all this Hackett talk is just the first large wave in a perfect storm of Bronco ****.
The injury dogpile is horrendous, but they’re not as bad as Wilson’s “Look what I can do!” dangerwich throws into a defender 10 feet in front of him.
“Fixable” – jargon word for job security
So much for the league memo about not being hasty to fire Head Coaches. Actually I guess they did show restraint he should of been fired weeks ago.
Would Payton go to Denver?
Maybe, but I don’t think Fangio would and he is going to be his D coordinator
Wade Phillips came back to Denver as a DC after being fired as Head Coach. Of course that was about a 20-year gap and Fangio’s firing is much more recent.
No. Denver would have to trade for him since the Saints still own him. Denver has no draft capital because of the Wilson trade.
just say NO to Dan Quinn
What quality candidate would want to hitch his wagon to the disaster that is Russell Wilson?
Perhaps Coach Prime Time?
Not til Prime Jr is ready for pro ball. It’ll be the 2 of them, plus LeBron and his kid, and probably Carlos Correa teaming up to rule the NFL for a decade or 2.
This ain’t the NBA and this ain’t baseball!
Seriously, man, these types of musings show why US sports fans think like Dumb Jocks.
You went and took him seriously and HE’S the dumb jock??
@Hub- to be fair, he said I THINK like one. I haven’t been a dumb jock since ’93 when I scored 4 TD in 1 game…
However, it seems his ability is yet a notch below that.
Was that against Andrew Johnson High? For the state championship?
Why yes, yes it was. Tough squad, but not tough enough to stop ol’ number 33.
Couple NFL clubs have extended offers but haven’t expressed concerns pertaining to Correa’s physical, because those contracts aren’t guaranteed. More to come….
Hackett surely isn’t the lone culprit for this lousy season, but it was mainly his responsibility to get the team to improve which simply did not happen at all. His start into the campaign was horrible: Not giving the new QB at least some time with the team in pre-season was the first head-scratcher, calling for a near impossible FG instead of letting the offense try to keep the final drive alive in the embarrassing loss to Seattle to start the season was just indefensible. Hackett looked like a dead man walking after week 1 and wasn’t able to right the ship.
It’s tough to fire someone on Christmas. The Broncos obviously do not have any successor in line. But as bad as it is, it almost can’t get worse than keeping Hackett any further.
Gruß,
BSHH
They’re Walmart. Not much else to explain.
You pointed out something that I also thought was extremely impactful, and that was the lack of preseason reps with the brand-new offense and roster.
Matt Patricia has HC experience.
So does Hue Jackson and he’s a more offensive coach.
They’re both pretty offensive.
Don’t forget Adam Gase. He has strong ties to the Broncos. Problem solved!
The thing that looms largest after the Hackett firing is losing Ejiro Evero. Typically HC’s bring in their own guys, but I don’t think that Denver should hire a defensive guy for HC considering the amount of focus the offense needs right now.
Some potential HC’s are not who they seem to be and should stick as a O or D Coordinator. But you just don’t now still you have the opportunity.
Looked at the Broncos coaching staff to see who would be the intern, and there is literally no experience on the staff. They have Dom Capers, an Instructional Designer, 2 Offensive Quality Control Coaches, 2 Defensive Special Projects Coaches, and 2 Fellowship Coaches.
Who the hell did Nathaniel Hackett have to bounce ideas off or to offer up a counter suggestion? It’s great to give an up and coming coach a promotion, like having a OC that was the TE coach at your prior job. You have to have someone with experience to help, especially if you are a first time Head Coach.
Maybe he should have kept Munchak around
Shane Steichen.
Helped Justin Herbert in his rookie season where he performed amazingly. Then helped Jalen Hurts develop into a solid passing threat aswell as his natural running game.
Hopefully he could help Russ refind the form which made him a top 10 QB most of the past decade. Similarly to Hurts he has the ability to run and pass and he could carry over a lot of what he does at the Eagles with Smith and Brown with Juedy and Sutton.
Seems to be a really good offensive minded coach and I think that’s the right direction to go in for the broncos. If you go defensive minded then you’ve basically given up on Russ which you can’t really do as your franchise QB on that enormous contract. Your stuck with him so you need to help him get back to his best, that’s really the only chance you have
The Broncos would have been better off hiring veteran comedian Buddy Hackett.
Seriously, the blame also needs to go on the GM who signed off on trading all that future draft capital for a clearly past-his-prime Russell Wilson and then doubling down on a bad deal by extending the former Seattle QB at max money.
Maybe they can go back and sue Seattle for deceptive advertising.
Such an obvious own goal. Wilson had been slipping the past couple of seasons, right after the Russ’s cooking trademarked nonsense went off the rails mid-season.
Broncos have to, HAVE TO, find an experienced Offensive minded HC. They simply can’t go back to the unproven HC well. If they can’t make this thing with Russel Wilson thrive, EVERYONE in the front office should be fired.
Keep an eye out on Eric Bieniemy, Kansas City’s offensive coordinator. He was a star RB at the University of Colorado and is long overdue to become a head coach.
If you look up Eric Bieniemy and his rap sheet and the reasons he is banned from the University of Colorado….
You will understand why he does not get HC interviews.
He gets TONS of interviews, just no offers.
It makes you wonder, HOF coaches like Landry, Noll and Walsh wouldn’t have survived their rookie years had they coached in 2022
They didn’t have to deal with the constant internet and social media pressure that exists now.
Two of those head coaches took over historically bad franchises. The was the first HC of an expansion team. Hackett took over a team with a SB caliber defense. And then got a starting QB, who until this season, was on the express train to the HOF. Big difference
Seattle is licking their chops right now with the high draft choices in front of them.
Yes we are.
Being a terrible HC in the NFL or NBA is the best financial move ever. Dudes get paid to suck, and collect coin for years after.
Cue up the start of keeping the status quo recycled NFL coaches’ carousel.
Football and basketball are team games that depend on a teams players working in coordination…often in small spaces…i.e. Timing.
Both sports are now firing coaches willy nilly and trying to make those teams work based on individual play. That will never work successfully, and is why both NFL and NBA play has gotten sloppier and sloppier.
I don’t know who hired Hackett, or who their FO is. But Russell Wilson was clearly washed up in Seattle, yet someone gave him the GDP of a small country to play QB for the Broncos. Now Bronco fans can look forward to the period of time of whatever years remain on Wilsons contract for the Broncos coaching staff to bang their heads against the wall to get something out of Wilson. And when he has a good game one out of every 3-4 everyone can celebrate over the fools gold they found.
Hackett to the Pats as a defensive assistant
The Broncos I mean their owners should try to hire Deion sanders Coach prime for their head coach and hire Saturday as the OL coach
Insert “cooking” joke here! Turns out that Pete was getting the most of Wilson for ten years, not holding him back. RW has to adapt his game now that he isn’t 23. He can’t hold the ball so long. More quick passes and short throws based around a solid run game. You know, the opposite of letting Russ cook…
Jimmy Johnson was 1-15 in his first season as the Cowboys head coach. Lucky for him that Jerry Jones is more patient.
Did Jimmy Johnson start with the NFL’s number one defense? Hackett has done the least with the most.