Culture is a buzzword used by teams, classrooms, and businesses to establish expectations. However cliche it may be, it’s an essential concept to install, especially if you are a new leader.
Nathaniel Hackett knows this all too well, serving as an offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, whom he helped lead to the AFC championship game in 2017, and as of recent, helped the Packers to three consecutive 13-win seasons and two appearances in the NFC championship game from 2019 to 2021.
Excellent coaching and leadership start with the coaching staff. Still, from Hackett’s experience and wisdom, the players who hold other players accountable separate the good from the great. The Denver Broncos coach recently spoke on wanting to see his team implement this method of leadership.
“A guy told me once, ‘When coaches hold players accountable, it’s a good team. When players hold players accountable, it’s a great team,'” Hackett said during his pre-camp press conference on July. 26. “When we always talk about the team [being] so important to us, it’s about those guys holding each other accountable and being there for each other.”
Hackett also spoke on what happens when the players take on the leadership initiative. To Hackett, once the players begin leading on the field, then that is when the unique aspects of football, such as winning, start happening.
“As a coach, you can’t go out there [on the field]. Those guys have to be able to work things out themselves. You’re trying to train them as best you can, but they’re the ones who have to work it out. When you see that happen, that’s when special things start coming to fruition …. [T]hat’s what we’re trying to create here.”
The Broncos kicked off training camp last week. By the end of the summer, we might start to see some of the signs of that accountability.
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