It’s safe to assume Nathaniel Hackett will not get a warm welcome when he returns to Empower Field at Mile High in Week 5.
Hackett, now an offensive coordinator for the New York Jets, was fired by the Denver Broncos last year after going 4-11 as a first-time head coach. Denver averaged 15.5 points per contest in Hackett’s 15 games in charge. After Hackett was fired, the Broncos improved to 27.5 points per game under interim head coach Jerry Rosburg for the final two games of the season.
This year, the Jets are also averaging 15.5 points per contest. Denver, meanwhile, is averaging 25 points per game under new head coach Sean Payton.
Hackett’s offense was abysmal in 2022, and Payton was not afraid to say so after he took the job, stating that last year “might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”
Jets players and coaches quickly came to Hackett’s defense after Payton made those unexpected comments this offseason, but the numbers don’t lie. The Broncos’ offense — led by quarterback Russell Wilson — was terrible under Hackett in 2022. The team’s biggest weakness under Hackett has now flipped to a strength under Payton.
It took Wilson 12 games to throw nine touchdown passes under Hackett, a total the QB has now matched with just four games under Payton.
By all accounts, Hackett seems to be a nice person and a good players’ coach, but he failed as a head coach in Denver, and fans plan to welcome him back to Colorado in a clever way on Sunday.
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