Less than 24hrs after their humiliating 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Denver Broncos have fired first year head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
Denver are currently in last place in the AFC West with a 4-11 record, and would be selecting 3rd overall in the 2023 draft if the season were to end today were it not for the fact that they sent their 1st round selection to Seattle as part of the ill fated Russell Wilson trade in the offseason.
With the firing, Hackett officially became the shortest tenured head coach in Denver Broncos history, lasting only 15 games.
In a statement posted to the team’s website, CEO Greg Penner wrote “On behalf of our ownership and organization, I want to thank Nathaniel Hackett for his dedication as head coach of the Denver Broncos. We sincerely appreciate Nathaniel’s efforts and wish him and his family all the best in the future.
“Following extensive conversations with George and our ownership group, we determined a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos. This change was made now out of respect for everyone involved and allows us to immediately begin the search for a new head coach.
“We recognize and appreciate this organization’s championship history, and we understand we have not met that standard. Our fans deserve much better, and I can’t say enough about their loyalty during such a challenging stretch for our team.
“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. As we begin the process of selecting our next head coach, we remain focused on playing competitive football to finish the season on a positive note.”
Denver, who currently has the 8th ranked defense in the league, has struggled mightily to put up points in 2022. They currently have the 3rd fewest passing TD’s in the league, 3rd worst completion % in the NFL, and the 8th most interceptions.
If the Broncos offense had been able to score just 18pts per game in 2022, they would currently hold an 11-4 record. Instead, they’ve been held to 10 points or fewer in 5 games thus far.
The Broncos ownership group plans to hold a press conference Tuesday morning where they will announce succession plans following Hackett’s departure.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.