Former Broncos Head Coach Receives Shocking Demotion in AFC East

Getty Former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson.

To say Nathaniel Hackett’s time as head coach of the Denver Broncos didn’t go well might be underselling exactly how bad things went. In the only head coaching opportunity in Hackett’s 20-plus year career, he went 4-11 in 2022 and was fired with 2 games remaining in his only season with the Broncos.

Things have continued to go downhill professionally for Hackett. That slide added another chapter when he had playcalling duties stripped from him as offensive coordinator of the New York Jets just 5 games into the 2024 regular season and just 2 days after head coach Robert Saleh was fired.

The Jets, who are off to a 2-3 start, replaced Saleh with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich as interim head coach. Ulbrich handed playcalling duties to passing game coordinator Todd Downing, who was fired as offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans after they finished 30th in the NFL in total offense in 2022.

“This is more a byproduct of a different take on things,” Ulbrich told ESPN’s Rich Cimini on October 10. “I’m not saying it’s a better or worse take on things by any means, but just a different take on things, a fresh approach.”

Ulbrich said Hackett will remain on the coaching staff in an undisclosed role.

Hackett’s Time in Denver Was Disastrous

Hackett earned his shot as head coach of the Broncos after successful stints as an offensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers, where he guided the league’s highest-scoring offense in 2020 and oversaw back-to-back NFL MVP seasons for quarterback Aaron Rodgers in 2020 and 2021.

Hackett’s tenure with the Broncos was beset by problems from the start, and mostly centered around game and clock management that became such an issue that Denver had to bring in a special assistant coach to help manage that aspect of the game. Hackett also turned over play-calling duties to quarterbacks coach and current New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak midway through the season.

Hackett was fired on December 26, 2022, and just one day after a 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

One-and-Done NFL Coaches Aren’t That Rare

According to Pro Football Network, Hackett is one of 33 NFL head coaches that’s happened to since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 — so it’s not as rare as one migh tthink.

What is rare? Getting fired before the end of your first season. That doesn’t come along very often. According to CBS Sports, Hackett was just the fifth coach since the AFL-NFL merger to get the axe in that manner and the second in 2 seasons following Urban Meyer with the Jaguars in 2021. Meyer, Lou Holtz and Bobby Petrino share the record for least amount of games at 13 each.

“Following extensive conversations with (general manager) George (Paton) and our ownership group, we determined a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos,” team owner and CEO Greg Penner said in a statement to NFL.com following Hackett’s firing. “This change was made now out of respect for everyone involved … 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.”