Weeks after Nathaniel Hackett secured an immediate bounce-back opportunity, his top Denver lieutenant on offense will land on his feet as well. The Titans are hiring Justin Outten, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Despite limited experience and the Broncos’ stunningly woeful season on offense, Outten generated interest from a few teams. Most notably, the Ravens interviewed the one-year Denver offensive coordinator twice for their OC job. Perhaps not coincidentally, this Titans staff addition comes hours after the Ravens’ Todd Monken OC hire.
Outten, 39, will join Tennessee’s staff as running backs coach and run-game coordinator, per Pelissero. Derrick Henry‘s new position coach has not directly overseen running backs at the NFL level, going from Packers tight ends coach to Broncos OC last year. Outten, however, interviewed with the Titans and drew interest from the Rams this offseason. He will end up working on Tim Kelly‘s staff in Tennessee.
After attempting to bring other Packers assistants to Denver, Hackett ended up zeroing in on Outten. The Broncos’ offense produced a spectacular dud in 2022, regressing to last place despite the Russell Wilson acquisition. Hackett also went around Outten when he relinquished play-calling duties late in the season, handing the reins to QBs coach Klint Kubiak. Following Hackett’s ouster, Outten called plays for the final two Broncos games. This Titans pact continues a steady rise for Outten, who began his coaching career with an eight-season run at the high school level. Outten began his NFL career as an intern in 2016.
The Broncos posted 24- and 31-point outings during Outten’s play-calling weeks — a narrow loss to the Chiefs and a Week 18 win over the Chargers — but the team hired Sean Payton. The longtime Saints play-caller will be calling plays in Denver. The Broncos are, however, still searching for new offensive and defensive coordinators.
Some great descriptions of the 2022 Broncos’ offense in the article!
“Stunningly woeful” and “spectacular dud”
The fact that any of the numbskulls running that offense last year has a job this year doing anything remotely involved in coaching should be Exhibit A in Flores’ lawsuit.