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Nathaniel Hackett Not Planning To Cede Play-Calling Duties

October 25th, 2022 at 6:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Nathaniel Hackett‘s offense submitted another second-half dud against the Jets, extending the Broncos’ losing streak to four and increasing the temperature on the first-year coach’s unexpectedly hot seat.

The Broncos’ 16-9 loss leaves them with 100 points. That is not only the NFL’s basement mark, counting the teams that have had their bye week, it is, per The Athletic, the lowest seven-game Denver total since 1966. Considering the Broncos’ struggles during that period and much of the 1970s, the statistics keep looking worse for Hackett, a veteran offensive coordinator hired to repair Denver’s long-anemic attack.

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Although this Broncos edition’s 14.3 points per game is well behind Pat Shurmur‘s 2021 offense (19.7, 23rd) — a unit that largely led to Vic Fangio‘s firing — Hackett is not considering ceding his play-calling responsibilities or making staff changes at this point.

“Right now, on a short week, we’re going to keep the status quo. We’re all going to work together to build a great plan,” Hackett said, via Denver7’s Troy Renck. “I feel like our operation has been going well. We held the ball for a long time, and we moved the ball; we just didn’t convert on some third downs. That kind of stalled us, but we’re going to keep going how we are, and we’ll evaluate everything; we always do.”

Latavius Murray‘s 2-yard touchdown run Sunday gave the Broncos a rare red zone TD, but Hackett’s offense still ranks 32nd in red zone TD rate (23.5%). Only one other team (Seattle) is scoring TDs at a sub-42% clip in the red area. The Broncos have also struggled each week in third quarters; their offense has accounted for just three third-stanza points this season. These figures have helped lead to rampant scrutiny on Hackett and Russell Wilson, who is tracking toward a Week 8 return from his hamstring injury after missing just his fourth career contest Sunday. Although Hackett’s game management struggles have calmed down since the late-September hire of Jerry Rosburg, Denver’s 58 penalties also lead the NFL.

Hackett, 42, has called plays for three teams — the Bills, Jaguars and now the Broncos — but hired a first-time OC (Justin Outten). Denver has Klint Kubiak installed as its quarterbacks coach. Also a second-generation coach, Kubiak, 35, has called plays previously but only for one season (with the 2021 Vikings).

Hackett’s 2017 Jacksonville squad ranked fifth in scoring, but the second-generation NFL play-caller did not produce another top-half scoring finish during his five-season run calling plays in Buffalo and Jacksonville. The Jags ousted Hackett during the 2018 season, leading him to Green Bay as a non-play-calling OC. Hackett’s Packers stay led to four teams — the Bears, Jags, Vikings and Broncos — interviewing him for HC jobs this year. The Broncos hired Hackett over finalists Kevin O’Connell and Dan Quinn.

Thirteen coaches have been one-and-dones since 2000. Urban Meyer is the only one not to finish out his first season. It would be somewhat surprising if Hackett followed Meyer’s lead, given the fusillade of scandals that led to Shad Khan firing Meyer. But Hackett’s prospects at making it through his first season became a talking point around the league before the Broncos’ losses to the Chargers and Jets. And Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk posits Denver’s London assignment and Week 9 bye leaves new ownership — not in place for Hackett’s hire — a reboot window. If the Jaguars continue the pattern of the Broncos’ offense being neutralized after halftime, speculation about Hackett not finishing the season will intensify. For now, however, the team will try its scuffling formula in London.

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