Broncos Locker Room Sounds Off to Front Office on New HC Hire

When the Denver Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett, his departure could have easily left a monster hangover on Dove Valley. Entirely unexpectedly, Denver's interim head coach Jerry Rosburg hit the ground running as he administered his own kind of Alka-Seltzer in the reeling locker room.

Set free from the rudderless command of Hackett, the antidote prescribed by Rosburg must have had ‘fast action’ written on the label. Quarterback Russell Wilson was among the notable players to suddenly be of much clearer mind, but he wasn’t the only one.

Coming into the season, hopes were high that tight end Albert Okwuegbunam would become a genuine pass-catching weapon. Instead, the 24-year-old spent the bulk of his third season confined to Hackett’s dog house until Rosburg set him free in the wake of Greg Dulcich going on injured reserve.

On Monday, Okwuegbunam broached the subject of being frozen out by Hackett and expressed relief that a new regime would shortly be taking over.

“I wouldn’t say I am glad that there is a coaching change, but I’m definitely appreciative of the new opportunity and the new staff coming in,” Okwuegbunam said after cleaning out his locker. “I’m going to approach the offseason by working hard and improving on things I need to improve on. I’m looking forward to who they are going to hire.”

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The general malaise that enveloped the Broncos could be traced back to a preseason where most starters saw little or no action. For wide receiver KJ Hamler, who was recovering from a significant injury, it had far less of an impact personally. But for many others, it was a lot tougher to get up to speed once the real bullets hit their targets.

Hamler went on to miss large parts of the season again due to injury. While Okwuegbunam was far quicker to turn the page on Hackett, the former Nittany Lion was far more complimentary.

“I just want a coach that wants to win," Hamler said on Monday. "Not saying Hackett didn’t want to win or anything like that. Hackett was a great coach, and I appreciate Hackett to the fullest. I still have to call him and text him. I know it’s been a tough time for him. [I want someone to] come in here to work and a coach who is not going to play around. We just want a coach who wants to win. We have all the pieces to win. I know we do; we just have to put that all together and just find that connection to the coaching staff. Once we put everything together, we will win.”

In fairness, resetting the organization started two weeks ago when Rosburg began to unravel the mess coach Hackett had entangled the entire operation. Therefore, it stands to reason that with the full knowledge of what is coming, the players will be receptive.

Starting left tackle Garett Bolles sounds like a man who’s fully aware holes must be filled, especially within his spectacularly underperforming offensive line.

“We have to bring in some pieces," Bolles said on Monday. "We have to ramp up our o-line, of course. That was something that we have to deal with. I’m going to do everything I can to get the guys right. Our defense is set. It’s of the best defenses in football, and it’s been like that for years now. Seeing them do their thing, we have to do our part. We have to make them more successful. We have to put points on the scoreboard and make sure they are getting their reps so that they can go out there and do their job. If we do that, then this is a hard team to beat in all three phases of the game.”

The fact that so many prominent voices in the Broncos locker room are already embracing change bodes well for the future.

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