Broncos fire Nathaniel Hackett

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 26, 2022, 12:45 PM EST
Los Angeles Rams vs the Denver Broncos on Christmas Day
Getty Images

Yesterday’s blowout loss to the Rams was the last straw for Broncos ownership with first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

Hackett was fired today, the team announced.

The Broncos have been the NFL’s most disappointing team this season: They traded for Russell Wilson thinking he would be the last piece of a Super Bowl contender. Instead, they’re 4-11 and among the worst teams in the NFL.

The draft picks the Broncos traded for Wilson, and the contract they gave him, make it virtually impossible for them to move on from him. He’s their franchise quarterback, and they need to find a head coach who can win with him. That coach is not Hackett, who is fired before even finishing his first season.

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90 responses to “Broncos fire Nathaniel Hackett”

  8. Bless them, at least they waited until after Christmas. Side note: Russell Wilson’s rah rah fake attitude is still the most annoying personality in all of football.

  9. He was only hired for the very, very, faint possibility that he was going to attract Aaron Rodgers.

  14. Inevitable. Hackett can’t be blamed for all the dysfunction in Denver, but yesterday’s game effort was laughable. The Rams are awful, and they made Denver look like a JV team. Looked like the team quit on Hackett, and the Walmart people can easily afford the buyout. The question is, might Sean Payton be interested? I would doubt it…and if not him, who? Who can win with this ineffective version of Russell?

  15. Good for Wilson. It’s not every day that you can brutally suck at your job and watch someone else get fired for it.

  16. Broncos didn’t do their homework on Wilson and his rapidly declining skill, not did they do their homework on Hackett who was way in over his head.

  20. Hackett didn’t do a good job, but, he’s still the fall guy for the ownership who mortgaged their future on a fading has-been QB.

    Did the Broncos management not watch the last couple of seasons with Wilson in Seattle? Or, were they only watching Super Bowl season highlights? And, them highlights be over EIGHT years old.

  21. I’m not a fan of the guy, but I unquestionable feel bad for him, getting fired the day after Christmas.

    Props to Hackett for at least being a pro through a really rough season. Never melted down, and never saw him and Russ on the sidelines looking like Kliff and Kyler.

  25. Not sure how I feel about this one. Coaches, like quarterbacks, deserve some time to get their feet wet, and less than a year doesn’t seem fair. If you have a quarteback who can’t do the job and you can’t get rid of, what are you supposed to do?

  29. ‘Pete Carroll looks like a genius now’

    Seattle has lost five of their last six, maybe they should worry about their own stuff.

  32. Russell Wilson owes Nate Hackett a chunk of his salary for getting him fired. Hackett is the scapegoat for Wilsons’ shortcomings.

  33. Wilson is terrible. I’ve never seen a guy fall so quickly. It almost feels like he’s doing it on purpose

  34. That franchise is going to be awful for a very long time. They are saddled with Wilson’s contract. They don’t have any draft capital. They have major holes, specifically the offensive line. Who would take that job?

  37. I don’t like Wilson any more than the average hater, but I find it hard to believe his skills eroded so substantially this year without at least half of the cause to be rooted in poor coaching.

  40. Not surprised they fired Hackett, but I am surprised their GM who made the awful trade for Wilson is still employed.

  41. Wilson has a strong track record and Hackett was essentially the QB coach for a QB who didn’t really need one in GB. Anyone who thinks Wilson was holding Hackett back is because they personally don’t like Wilson.

  43. At least he didn’t get fired on Christmas Day.
    And that’s only because no one has ever gotten fired during the middle of a game.

  45. Go back and get some more seasoning and maybe he’ll get another shot. Hopefully with a QB that doesn’t have a major short circuit between the ears. I mean first Rogers then this version of Wilson?

  47. The Broncos had an Urban Meyer level disaster of a coach but without the phenom quarterback and no draft picks. Good luck.

  48. I’m glad of this whole thing! The Broncos are going to be a laughing stock for years to come!

  49. Seattle has lost five of their last six, maybe they should worry about their own stuff.

    Seattle still has a pretty good chance at making the playoffs.

    Broncos, not so much

  51. If they were hoping to win the Sean Payton sweepstakes….Fangio may not come along for that ride.

  54. Good for him, I bet it’s a tremendous relief. He’ll get an OC gig somewhere cause everyone knows it wasn’t his fault. If you wanna feel for someone, feel for the next guy. He’s the one who will be stuck with that mess.

  57. Wilson thought he was going to go to Denver and Peyton Manning them a SB trophy lol. Wilson is no Manning and it shows.

  58. How many more coaches will Wilson get fired until his contract is up? If I were a player on the team I’d demand a trade or retire. It’s just not worth injury to play for a team with zero chance of being relevant for possibly a decade.

  59. I feel bad for Hackett. Imagine how excited he was to have a probable HOF’er in his prime(RW), only to watch RW fall off a cliff.

  60. Russ, sometimes the grass is not always greener on the other side. You had a good HC. And this Hackett firing is on you. You cost a man, and soon the rest of his staff, their jobs.

  63. How does the GM escape unscathed?

    With no firsts, no money, and stuck with Russ for 2 years how is a new HC going to do any better?

    The GM is the one responsible for this mess.

  64. When the Jags can turn it around in the 1st year with a veteran HC , you better follow that blueprint. Sean Peton is the answer

  66. Yet they are still stuck with Wilson, the guy that is more interested in his public image than in football.

    It will be interesting to see which head coach will be willing to go to Denver, knowing that he’d be stuck with Wilson

  67. Cleared the path for new head coach Dennis Allen. Can even bring in Michael Thomas to help make Wilson look good as new.

  68. I can’t believe anyone is defending Hackett. He was clearly in over his head from day 1. Why fire him a day after Christmas though? Let him finish out the season and improve the draft pick.

  69. You don’t bench a first ballot HOF QB like Russell Wilson during a game you could still win without there being consequences.

  72. Broncos fans are so lucky…. Bucs fans been waiting to get the news HC FIRED for the past 2 months!

  73. What a bunch of jerks for firing Hackett with only two games left. Now I have even more reasons to root against the Denver Broncos. Hiring the no talent Wilson is the real problem for the Mile High City team.

  74. He needed a special coach to help him with clock management. Seriously?? This has to rank asone is the worst, first time head coach hires ever.

  75. packers76 says:
    December 26, 2022 at 12:47 pm
    Maybe the should have fired the GM for trading for Wilson.

    GMs probably next. They’re stuck with Wilson.

  76. Why would any Denver fan buy season tickets next year? Who can fix Russ? Unless they hire a one year QB like Baker and just bench Russ outright.

  77. Well, at least Nathaniel Hackett can say he had more games coached in the NFL than Urban Meyer.

  78. Russel Wilson isn’t the answer. I guess all those naysayers were right when they said the trade was a huge mistake.

  80. Biggest head-scratcher for me was the “experts” giving the Broncos better odds to win the AFC Championship than the Bengals, who had just done it, and some other 2021 playoff teams when they had a losing record and a new HC.

  81. The new owners didn’t hire him, so this was long overdue. The top management being retained to help get the next coach makes little sense to me, since that’s why the Broncos are about to give the Seahawks their 3rd & 35th draft picks in 2023.

    A much better approach would have been to clear out the management, too. Hire an interim search team for recommendations on both GM/Coach. I agree with the move to finish out the season with the interim coach.

  82. Nate and Davante will be begging to come back and play for me next year so I can help them both get rings. They need me.

  83. Bet the Seahawks hire Hackett as a QB coach and show how good he is w/o using Russell(UNWATCHABLE)Wilson.

  84. When I spoke to former SC OC earlier in the year, he said his son was brought to Denver to install an offense for Aaron Rodgers. Paul seemed anger by this. His son didn’t have much chance to succeed.

  86. Crazy that he continues to get so many opportunities at the NFL level, considering how completely unqualified he is. He is in over his head as either an OC or HC, and doesn’t belong in the NFL.

  87. shoepik says:
    December 26, 2022 at 2:30 pm
    “Cleared the path for new head coach Dennis Allen. Can even bring in Michael Thomas to help make Wilson look good as new”

    Makes sense. The Raiders hired a failed Denver HC, time for the Broncos to return the favor.

  88. cowboysfan8369 says:
    December 26, 2022 at 3:39 pm
    GMs probably next. They’re stuck with Wilson.//////////////////////////
    The GM is probably wanting it to happen next to get out of that S Show.

  89. Bless them, at least they waited until after Christmas. Side note: Russell Wilson’s rah rah fake attitude is still the most annoying personality in all of football.

    ——————————

    Let’s ride! …. Russ

  90. Pete Carroll looks like a genius now

    ———–

    John Schneider & Pete must have been just giggling on that phone call to Denver. This has to be the worst trade in NFL history.

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