Why did the Broncos hire Nathaniel Hackett? ‘Energy’, ‘smarts’ & Aaron Rodgers endorsement top factors in Denver’s choice

The Broncos became the first of the nine NFL teams with coaching openings to hire a head coach. On Thursday morning, it was reported that the team agreed to bring Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett on board to replace Vic Fangio.

Hackett has 13 years of NFL experience and has been an offensive coordinator in eight of his last nine seasons in the league. He has been in Green Bay for three seasons, working alongside 2020 MVP Aaron Rodgers and helping Matt LaFleur steer the Packers to 13 wins all three years.

Now Hackett will take his talents to Denver in the hopes of turning around a Broncos offense that had been lackluster under Fangio, who went 7-10 in his final season with the team and 19-30 overall.

Hackett was considered one of the favorites to land the Broncos job, but why did the team ultimately pick him? Here’s what to know about the first major hiring of the 2022 NFL coaching carousel.

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Why did the Broncos hire Nathaniel Hackett?

The Broncos are hiring Hackett for one simple reason, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. 

“The Broncos are hiring Nathaniel Hackett because they like Nathaniel Hackett,” Garafolo said on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” “They like his energy. They like his smarts. They like everything that they’ve heard about him.”

It’s easy to understand why the Broncos would like him. The team’s offense has been mediocre since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 season and they have cycled through 10 different starting quarterbacks since then, excluding the game where Kendall Hinton and Phillip Lindsay had to play the position.

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Meanwhile, Hackett has led three top-10 offenses during his eight years as an NFL offensive coordinator. Notably, he helped Blake Bortles put together the best season of his career in 2017 and led Jacksonville to a top-five scoring offense that year. They very nearly made the Super Bowl, but lost in the final quarter of the AFC Championship Game to the Patriots.

In Green Bay, Hackett has helped Aaron Rodgers reach the next level. He won the 2020 NFL MVP and could be a repeat winner of the award in 2021. Rodgers has been impressed with Hackett and has even called to endorse him for coaching jobs in the past, as Garafolo detailed.

“Aaron Rodgers has not been shy about picking up the phone,” Garafolo said. “Peter Schrager mentioned last hour he called the Falcons and said last year, ‘This is the guy that you should hire.’ Rodgers has gushed about Hackett publicly as well.”

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Specifically, Rodgers has praised Hackett for his energy, ingenuity and his ability to relate to players and make them laugh. This will certainly draw attention, considering that Rodgers may be on his way out of Green Bay this offseason, but whether the Broncos are contenders to land Rodgers or not, they really like Hackett.

“The Broncos are hiring Hackett because they think they got themselves a great head coach,” Garafolo said. “If they get Aaron Rodgers on top of that, that’s great.”

For those wondering why the Broncos decided to hire Hackett now, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that talks between Hackett and Denver “heated up” during their second interview. Hackett was scheduled to interview with the Jaguars for a second time, but the Broncos didn’t want to risk losing him. 

As such, Hackett became the first head coaching hire of the 2022 NFL offseason.