Former Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio often had good results on defense, but the team’s offense and special teams units struggled during the Fangio era, and his game management was often criticized by fans and pundits.
It seems safe to assume the offense will take a step forward under new offensive-minded coach Nathaniel Hackett (and fans will now hope the defense doesn’t take a big step back). Denver also brought in a new coordinator for special teams, hoping Dwayne Stukes can turn that unit around as well.
It remains to be seen how much the team’s offense and special teams will improve under Hackett, but he should definitely be an improvement over Fangio in game management.
Hackett has already demonstrated savvy clock management in preseason (something Fangio struggled with), and he was two coaches on staff specifically to help with game management.
After joining the team earlier this year, Hackett hired Brad Miller as a football strategy analyst and Derek Haithcock as an assistant to the head coach.
“Brad Miller is our game management guy, and he’s done a really good job,” Hackett said Wednesday. “We have a lot of conversations, a lot of talks. In my past, I kind of did all of it by myself. So, it’s really great to have somebody there that’s always in your ear, giving you the go if you want to go for it on fourth down, when to take a timeout, and always keeping you up to date with that.
“Derek is really there just to make sure I don’t do anything crazy and makes sure I have the red flag, or don’t have the red flag. [He’s] right there just in case I need the surface, and he is also charting plays. He’s doing all kinds of stuff just so that I can have those transitions to make it efficient so that I can be there for defense and special teams.”
There’s no guarantee that hiring these type of coaches will lead to positive results, but it shows proactive thinking from Hackett, who knows a successful head coach needs to learn on others for certain elements of the job.
They might not be noticed by most fans, but Miller and Haithcock were important hires for the Broncos this offseason.
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