The Denver Broncos made the decision to fire their first year head coach Nathanial Hackett on Monday. The decision came after the Broncos loss to the L.A. Rams on Christmas, 51-14, with Wilson throwing three interceptions on the night and Denver’s defense failing to force a single Rams punt.
A Skirmish also occurred along the Broncos sideline during the game, after pass rusher Randy Gregory appeared to slap Rams offensive guard Oday Aboushi after the final whistle where Denver looked like an absolute disaster of a team.
Hackett ended up going 4 and 11 in his 15 games with the Broncos as head coach. The Denver Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner released a statement that read, “On behalf of our ownership and organization, I want to thank Nathaniel Hackett for his dedication as head coach of the Denver Broncos. We sincerely appreciate Nathaniel’s efforts and wish him and his family all the best in the future. Following extensive conversations with George and our ownership group, we determined a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos. This change was made now out of respect for everyone involved and allows us to immediately begin the search for a new head coach.”
He continued to say, “We recognize and appreciate this organization’s championship history, and we understand we have not met that standard. Our fans deserve much better, and I can’t say enough about their loyalty during such a challenging stretch for our team. Moving forward, we will carefully evaluate every aspect of our football operations and make whatever changes are necessary to restore this franchise’s winning tradition. I will lead our head coaching search with support from our ownership group and George, whom I have confidence in as our general manager. As we begin the process of selecting our next head coach, we remain focused on playing competitive football to finish the season on a positive note.”
The disappointment in Denver got started early this year, with their season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, losing to them in primetime. Even Hackett’s first career win against the Houston Texans couldn’t be enjoyed, as fourth down issues seemed to plague the Broncos. At one point during the game, the offense ran out of time on fourth and short, which then knocked them out of field goal range. Once again, during Denver’s second win of the season the Broncos were booed endlessly. Hackett’s last win came when the Broncos played the Arizona Cardinals during week 15.
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