Denver Broncos fire coach Nathaniel Hackett after 4-11 start
The move comes after a 4-11 start and a 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Hackett’s firing abruptly ended the shortest non-interim head coaching term in franchise history. The Walton Penner Group, led by the Broncos’ new owner Walmart heiress Rob Walton, daughter Carrie Walton Penner and son-in-law Greg Penner, is a team with one of the best defenses in the league. I quickly ran out of patience with an attack that simply failed to score.
“Following an extensive conversation with [general manager] George [Paton] “This change was made out of respect for all involved and will allow us to quickly explore new directions,” Greg Penner said in a statement. new head coach.
“Going forward, we will carefully assess all aspects of football operations and make any necessary changes to restore the winning tradition of this franchise,” Penner said, adding that Peyton would assist in the search for coaching. No interim coach has been appointed.
The team has a press conference scheduled for Tuesday at noon ET.
At one point this season, the Broncos featured the 1st scoring defense and 32nd scoring offense. The Broncos also missed the playoffs seven years in a row, the longest playoff drought since the franchise’s early years of missing the playoffs between 1960 and 1976.
It’s a far cry from Hall of Famer Pat Bowlen’s 30-year run as owner when the Broncos went to more Super Bowls (seven) than they lost a season. It was also the fifth time he averaged less than 20 points per game in . Until Hackett’s dismissal, Wade Phillips had the shortest tenure as a non-interim head coach for a team in the post-merger era of the AFL and NFL.
Hackett, 42, was hired in January as the franchise’s 18th head coach after serving three seasons as the Green Bay Packers’ offensive coordinator under Matt Ruffler. A leader and coach, his intelligence, innovation and charisma impressed us from the beginning of the process.”
Kevin O’Connell, the Rams’ offensive coordinator at the time, and Dan Quinn, the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, were also finalists in the role. O’Connell was later hired by the Minnesota Vikings, whose resurgent offense led them to a 12-3 start. traded five draft picks and three players, including two first-round picks and two second-round picks. Wilson signed a five-year, $245 million extension just before the start of the season.
However, the Broncos’ offseason excitement quickly faded as Hackett’s in-game decision-making was questioned shortly after the start of the season.
In Week 1, his call to get kicker Brandon McManus to attempt a 64-yard field goal was replaced by Wilson’s attempt to convert 4 and 5 in the final minute of a 17–16 loss to Seattle. Controversial.
“Looking back, I absolutely should have done it,” Hackett said the day after the loss. “One of those things is looking back at it and saying, ‘Of course we should go for it. We missed the field goal.’ I knew there was.”
Game management issues continued in the weeks that followed, with fans even counting down the play clock at some home games.In September, former Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Jerry Rosberg announced that he would make mid-game management decisions. However, the disconnect between Hackett, Wilson and the offense continued.Hackett regularly stressed that he wanted to “build around this thing” [Wilson]On the offense, he does what he was “comfortable,” as Wilson repeatedly said, “I feel comfortable doing a lot.”
The Broncos had 15.5 points per game, their lowest point total in a season since 1966 at this point.
Injuries to front-line players like left tackle Garrett Balls, running back Javonte Williams, wide receiver Tim Patrick and outside linebacker Randy Gregory certainly didn’t solve the problem. But as the season progressed, there was far less public conversation about how Hackett tried to think outside the box in his teaching and why the Broncos’ offense has historically been bad. No. Five of the Broncos’ first six losses and eight in total were by one point.
That wasn’t the case on Sunday, as the Denver defense saw the Rams score on eight of nine possessions. In addition, backup quarterback Brett Ripien and guard Dalton Lisner exchanged words on the sidelines after a third-quarter sequence in which Wilson was fired for back-to-back plays.
Gregory was pulled out of the game twice by Hackett, first after he threw his helmet after a Rams touchdown in the first half, then flagged for a late hit to Los Angeles quarterback Baker Mayfield. was given. “After that second time, we took him out. It’s unacceptable,” Hackett said.
After the game, when the teams were crammed in the middle of the field on their way to the locker room, Gregory and Rams guard Odey Abousi exchanged words while wearing their helmets, with Gregory punching Abousi in the helmet. Before they were separated, the aboshi responded with his own punches.
With the richest owner group in the NFL and a fanbase that is still enthusiastic enough to keep the Broncos’ home sellout streak dating back to 1970, the role of head coaching for the Broncos would be a tempting task.