Nathaniel Hackett Sends Message to 'Frustrated' Broncos Fans
It would seem that cooler heads prevailed among the decision-makers at Denver Broncos HQ on Monday. The Broncos opting not to fire embattled head coach Nathaniel Hackett after Sunday's humiliating loss in Carolina came as a shock to most as the team fell to an unacceptable record of 3-8.
Loud calls for Hackett's job must be getting harder to ignore at Broncos HQ, and the hue and cry have now gone national. But on Monday, Hackett climbed onto the podium to address the failings of what is now, without question, a doomed season.
“Nobody is as frustrated as I am," Hackett said on Monday. "This is not where we wanted to be at this time in the season. None of us thought it was going to be like this and that responsibility is fully on me. I want to be the one that can do everything to help this football team because we, as a group, have to come together and find a way to win a football game. We can’t play the way that we played yesterday and expect to win a football game. It starts with me from practice preparation and every single thing that we do. I’m the most frustrated."
Undoubtedly, there are multiple issues deep within the Broncos’ fractured brain trust. Above all else, we find the baffling regression of Russell Wilson as a competent quarterback. Heaven knows that a quick fix to put Wilson back together would answer everyone's prayers in Dove Valley.
Most in Broncos Country question what Hackett even has to say anymore. On that front, he had a message for Denver's long-suffering fan base.
"I think that our fans are great," Hackett said. "They want to win, just like we all do. I don’t blame them for being frustrated... We have to get better plays and better execution across the board.”
Hackett pointed towards a set of predominantly team-related issues, which he believes have caused Wilson’s current alarming slide and loss of confidence.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things. It’s not just one. It’s all 11 guys, and it’s the coaches,” Hackett said. “We need better plays where people are open faster for him. At the same time, we need to be better in pass protection and better route runners. We all need to be better across the board.”
Right now, everything’s on the table regarding Wilson, which could include the sky-is-falling 'nuclear option' of releasing the nine-time Pro Bowler. It's hard to believe that such a move would even be entertained by the Broncos’ new ownership after only one season, especially considering how it would impact the team's salary cap for the foreseeable future, but stranger things have happened in the topsy-turvy NFL.
Hackett might well be long gone before the Broncos get around to ultimately diagnosing exactly how they came to break Wilson. But despite the temptation, cutting bait this early is not viable from a financial perspective.
Therefore, listening to what Hackett believes is causing Wilson to misfire might still provide a valuable template moving forward.
“It’s a combination of a lot of different things. There is some semblance of newness with this whole group,” Hackett said. “We’ve had a lot of changes throughout the offense with different people that have been out there playing with him. We need to give him the confidence back to be able to make the plays that he can make.”
If Hackett deserves any credit, it’s been how seemingly calm he’s remained when facing firing-squad questions about the team’s disastrous 2022 campaign.
Expect the line of interrogation to illicit ever more detailed answers and the intensity of those questions to only increase in ferocity. For as long as Hackett limps on as a lame-duck head coach, we can fully expect the vultures to circle over Broncos HQ and in ever-increasing numbers.
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