Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett is more than likely going to be a one-and-done in Denver, but there may be additional casualties following the Broncos’ underwhelming 2022 season. Sources told Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post that “front-office changes are more probable than not” in Denver, with the writer specifically pointing to general manager George Paton.
[RELATED: Broncos Likely To Fire Nathaniel Hackett Before Season’s End?]
Things haven’t gone great for Paton during his second season in Denver. The organization’s two main offseason moves — the trade (and subsequent extension) for Russell Wilson and the hiring of Hackett — have backfired, and as La Canfora points out, both of those moves were made before new ownership took over. The Rob Walton-led ownership group has “unlimited resources,” as La Canfora writes, and they may be more willing to eat the salaries of both their head coach and GM.
While La Canfora’s sources indicate that front office changes could be coming, ESPN’s Adam Schefter is adamant that Paton is staying put. During an appearance on 104.8 The Fan in Denver, Schefter opined that the GM will keep his job following the 2022 campaign.
“I expect that George Paton is going to be safe,” Schefter said (via the station’s website). “You can write that down from me. I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”
Paton worked his way up the Vikings organization, culminating in him earning the role of assistant general manager/vice president of player personnel. After being connected to a number of GM vacancies, he was hired by the Broncos following the 2020 season. During Paton’s first season at the helm, the organization traded star Von Miller and finished with a 7-9 record. A new quarterback and head coach were expected to right the ship in 2022, but the team is currently sitting with a 3-9 record.
Paton is personally responsible for the Broncos going on life support for the next 3+ years. No one really cares if the billionaire owner loses money, but fan support is a fickle thing – and at the moment every single fan in Denver sees a team that stinks to high heaven – and will do so until they can draft some replacements for Paton’s follies.
I didn’t think Wilson would crap the bed like he has but everyone else is calling him cringearus and thinks he’s cold white dog mess. I hate to think that the Seahawks success relies on their coaching staff but if you wouldn’t take a harder goshdarn look at that gum chewing geriatric cuz geno is a half game outta first
not sure of Rob Waltons timeline as owner, but the Wilson trade sure looks to me like an owner saying get the job done at any cost .
can blame Paton from the outside, but maybe he was the guy saying “you sure we want to do this?” on the inside.
A thorough house cleaning generally follows any change of ownership. Walton may decide to do this in stages rather than all at once but I think Paton is probably on borrowed time either way.
Paton has only been on the job for two years, and has assembled a talented roster. The team’s ability is not the problem. There are few areas that you can point to in Denver that require obvious improvement. The deficit is in the coaching and the quarterback (whose free-wheeling incompetence is a direct result of weak coaching).
Firing Paton and going into a rebuild with so many young players (Jeudy, Browning, Hamler, Williams, Surtain, etc) on contract would be massively irresponsible. Denver is stuck with Wilson, but they’re not stuck with Hackett. Let them attempt to recoup this roster with a better coach that will either hold Wilson accountable or be in afraid to sit him for a more manageable option.
Hamlet has one year left on his rookie deal and he has 42 career catches. Probably time to stop listing him. But I generally agree with you. Last offseason was about big game hunting at QB and it went as sideways as it possibly could. That trade and that coaching hire have been disasters, but he’s largely done a great job with the roster, injuries have been brutal, and the only immediate path forward is a new coach doing better work with Wilson. There’s a limit to what a GM replacement can accomplish at this stage.
True, I suppose I always list him since he’s still young and the staff for some god-forsaken reason refuses to use him at all. But I do agree. Everybody always want to reset and clean house whenever things aren’t going well-sometimes it’s appropriate, sometimes it’s not. In this case, there would be a lot of players that Denver would have to bet on replacing.
Must clean house-this is such a mess.
Just because an individual is successful at one level of employment does not mean that they are capable of performing at a high level at the next position above that position. Both Paton and Hackett may well have reached their ceiling level of performance, as Assistant General Manager and Offensive Coordinator, respectively. Also, much of Paton’s actions were thrust upon him due to the actions or lack of actions taken by his predecessor. Both individuals, if they are in need of employment, can always return to the positions in which they garnered success
A new ownership groups primary interest is placing their brand mark on the recent acquisition. This means most of the current employees are going to be replaced regardless of how well they were performing.
I don’t think there’s a clear enough picture to make a call on Paton. As Goku was alluding, the choice to sign WIlson early might’ve come from the Walton’s.
Also the Broncos aren’t only suffering from a Tweedle-Dee coach and an over-hyped QB, but the injury pile up has created a perfect storm of failure. As an owner, it’s hard to really accurately know what you’re looking at in terms of offense and the defense is doing better than anybody imagined either. It’s really bizarre.
If they ditch Paton, who’s drafted pieces like Surtain, JV Williams, Dulcich, Washington, Browning…they better know what they’re doing.
It’s not always wise to make changes just because you can. For instance, if the Broncos kept Fangio even through all the turmoil and fan chanting. With the offense numbers they made last year with steady Teddy, they’d be in the playoff picture this year.
The one common trait among all new owners is that they are totally convinced they can do a better job than the regime they are replacing.
so true
Mr. Unlimited is a washed up bum. He is only going to get people fired from this point on.
I feel like sports fans have a five minute memory because I feel like many of the commenters here had the Broncos winning the Super Bowl just a few months ago
It’s going to be hard to find a good GM willing to walk into the cap mess that was created.