Ahead of the 2022 NFL season, there were high hopes for the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos hired offensive-minded Nathaniel Hackett, who worked wonders with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, to be their head coach. The team also acquired superstar quarterback Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks. Predictions had the team coming out of the gates with a high-flying offense, and possibly even competing for the AFC West title. At minimum, the Broncos were predicted to atleast end the season with a winning record.
We are entering Week 8, and so far the Broncos have had a downright dismal start to their season. Should they stay the course with Hackett? Or should they cut their losses and cut ties with him immediately?
There is already national speculation about the new ownership group booting the embattled head coach and starting fresh, so here are three reasons why the Broncos must fire Nathaniel Hackett.
3. Broncos have shown no improvement after 7 weeks
Typically the sign of good teams are ones that have failures and mistakes, learn from them, then fix those mistakes. So far the Broncos have had a plethora of mistakes, but they continue to make those mistakes week after week. When questioned by the media regarding these mistakes in his postgame pressers, Hackett has said week after week that the team will “work on it.” Yet here we are nearing the halfway point in the season, and the Broncos still look like they're playing preseason football.
An actual quote from Nathaniel Hackett today, announcing he won't be making any changes and will be keeping things "status quo…"
"We're all going to work together to build a great plan. I feel like our operation has been going really well."
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) October 24, 2022
In a recent presser, Hackett revealed that he was tired of standing up at the podium and saying the same things. Despite him saying this, there has been little to no changes in Denver's play calling or schemes. Week after week Hackett has trotted out an extremely undisciplined and unprepared football team. Hackett did say he would “look into” re-assigning play-calling duties to another coach on staff, but again with the Broncos doing nothing in terms of changing things, he probably won't do anything about it. Head coaches rarely hand over play-calling duties, as it can be a serious blow to the ego.
2 Broncos are trending toward a historically bad season
The Broncos are a pretty storied and accomplished franchise. Since the team's inception, the Broncos have multiple championships, records, and Hall of Famers. Plus, the fan base is considered to be one of the best in the league. With the team having such a proud history, it understandably makes the fans upset that the team has been struggling for consecutive years.
The Broncos have scored 100 points through seven games. The only time they ever scored fewer through that many games was a 91-output in 1966.
So since the NFL merger in 1970, the Broncos have never scored fewer points to this point in the season than they have this year.
— Nick Kosmider (@NickKosmider) October 24, 2022
In the 2022 season, there has been very little offensive scoring. Per Andrew Mason of The Fan, Denver's 45 points through the first four home games is the lowest single-season four-game output in team history.
The Broncos had some on and off struggle periods throughout the '60s and '70s. These early teams put up some pretty miserable numbers, and the 2022 Broncos are closing in on resembling and even surpassing some of those bad records.
1. A seriously great defense is going to waste
One thing that has stayed consistent since the retirement of Peyton Manning is the fact that the Broncos have had a consistently great defense. Since the retirement of Manning, the Broncos have endured a slew of different coaches, quarterbacks, and schemes. Despite such high turnover in the franchise, the Denver D has always been highly rated.
In the Broncos' most recent Super Bowl run, the defense was credited with “carrying” the team. Manning was in his final season and Father Time was knocking on the door, but the defense was able to secure wins and, eventually, a championship. The Broncos' 2022 defense is off to a great start and has somehow managed to keep them in each game of the season so far. That alone is probably one of the most frustrating aspects about the team. Denver has been within winning range of each game this season, only to blow numerous opportunities.
The Broncos defense deserves all the praise 👏 pic.twitter.com/5uZDiKRqf7
— PFF (@PFF) October 20, 2022
The defense has endured some major injuries and has tried its hardest to win games. But there is only so much this defensive unit can do with a historically bad offense. After the recent loss to the New York Jets, tensions were running high in the Broncos' locker room. If Hackett is determined to stay the course and not make changes, it can't be long before he loses the locker room.
It will be interesting to see which will go first. Will it be the locker room or Nathaniel Hackett?
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