The Denver Broncos have hired Nathaniel Hackett as their newest head coach. Hackett, who served as the offensive coordinator for the past three seasons, is working with the Broncos to finalize the deal that would make him Vic Fangio’s successor in Denver.
This will mark Hackett’s first stint as a head coach — previously serving as the interim offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars before heading to Green Bay. While in Jacksonville, he worked exclusively with quarterback Blake Bortles and running back Leonard Fournette, coordinating the NFL’s top rushing attack while also leading them to the AFC Championship where they ultimately lost to the Tom Brady and the New England Patriots — who eventually won the Super Bowl in the same year.
Hackett’s exit from Green Bay comes after a lackluster performance in the divisional round of the playoffs where they were upset by the San Francisco 49ers, 13-10.
With several star players looking to be on the brink of free agency and the Packers having little cap space to work with, it is likely that they will have to trim the fat this offseason. Possibly even letting go of players like Davantae Adams, Robert Tonyan and Kevin King — players who are set to become free agents this offseason and have been instrumental to head coach Matt LaFleur’s offense and defensive secondary.
While LaFleur has stated that he intends to keep Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay “until he retires,” Rodgers has already made it very clear that if the Packers intend to start from the ground up that he will not be a part of it.
“I don’t want to be a part of a rebuild if I keep playing, so a lot of decisions in the next couple of months,” said Rodgers in a postgame interview.
This means that when the NFL free agency period begins on March 16, the Packers will have an opportunity to begin to prove their loyalty to Rodgers. Among the teams that are expected to court A-Rod are the, you may have guessed it, Denver Broncos.
This is arguably Aaron Rodger’s best chance of getting back into the playoffs if he decides to leave Green Bay. Some of the benefits of joining the Broncos are simple: young, dynamic receivers, great cap space and of course the fact that the newly appointed head coach, Hackett, has helped propelled Rodgers to an MVP season last year and the favorite to win the award again this season — beating out Tom Brady for a second straight year.
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