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Upon firing Nathaniel Hackett as head coach, the Denver Broncos named Jerry Rosburg, who had been Hackett’s senior assistant, as interim coach for the remaining two games of the season. The search for a permanent replacement would begin immediately, owner Greg Penner said.
Rosburg, 67, was lured out of retirement on September 24 to help Hackett with in-game clock management after multiple delay-of-game penalties and sideline communication breakdowns hindered the Broncos in their back-to-back losses to open the season.
He was the special teams coordinator on the Baltimore Ravens team that won the 2013 Super Bowl, serving in that position for the Ravens from 2008 to 2018. He was special teams coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 and the Cleveland Browns from 2001 to 2006. Before that, he’d spent two decades on the coaching staffs of various college and high school teams.
Rosburg has a reputation for “strict adherence to schedules and his practice-field tirades against sloppy play,” according to a 2019 Baltimore Sun story announcing Rosburg’s retirement. Chris Horton, the current special teams coach in Baltimore, called Rosburg “an encyclopedia” who taught him to “understand the entire game,” according to the Sun.
And longtime Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called Rosburg his best friend for decades.
“He’s been the best associate head coach and the best friend that a head coach can have,” Harbaugh said, according to the Sun. “Without Jerry Rosburg here, there’s no way we would have had the success that we’ve had.”
Jerry Rosburg Was Not Choice No. 1
Rosburg was not the organization’s first choice to lead the team for the remainder of the season, according to 9News’ Mike Klis.
“Source: Broncos first offered interim HC job to Ejiro Evero. He declined. He’s going to be a HC candidate this offseason. Preferred to stay with defense,” Klis tweeted on December 26. “Rosburg then made sense as he can oversee entire operation while coordinators run each phase.”
Evero, 41, joined the Broncos’ coaching staff as defensive coordinator before the 2022 season. Despite allowing 51 points to the Los Angeles Rams (where Evero had worked for five seasons), the Broncos’ defense has been their only strength this season. They rank seventh in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA), better than two teams who currently are in line to make the playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens (eighth) and Washington Commanders (10th).
As a potential candidate for the head coaching job, Evero has a chance to get the most out of his defense in the Broncos’ final two games, against division rivals the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.
The Expectations for Rosburg
The Broncos decided to move on from Hackett on December 26 after an embarrassing 51-14 loss to the Rams on Christmas Day. Hackett’s tenure with the team ends with a 4-11 record.
Hackett, who led the high-powered Green Bay Packers offense for three seasons, was hired in to turn the Broncos’ offense into something special, led by quarterback Russell Wilson. Instead, the offense never found its footing, ranking 30th in the NFL with an offensive DVOA of -16.9%.
Penner, the team’s owner, said the transition from Hackett to Rosburg was made “out of respect for everyone involved,” according to CNN. “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.”
Rosburg is now the NFL’s third interim head coach of the 2022 season, along with Steve Wilks of the Carolina Panthers and Jeff Saturday of the Indianapolis Colts. While Wilks has the Panthers in the mix for playoff positioning, Saturday, who had no coaching experience, is now 1-5 at the helm.
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