The NFL season has not quite reached the halfway point, yet there is already reportedly some talk about Nathaniel Hackett not even finishing his first season as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, there is “chatter in some league circles that [Hackett]’s job could be on the line with this Sunday’s game against the Jaguars in London.”
Graziano noted that he was not necessarily buying the chatter and that it would be “absolutely bizarre for a non-Urbran Meyer” head coach to lose his job at this point in the season.
Nevertheless, the fact that Hackett might be beginning to feel his seat warm up through just seven games is an indictment on how bad things have gone so far in Denver.
The Broncos enter this weekend with a 2-5 record and sit in last place in the AFC West. Quarterback Russell Wilson, who the Broncos inked to a five-year, $245 million deal this offseason, is out with a partially torn hamstring.
Even when healthy, Wilson has been a disappointment this year, completing 58.8% of pass attempts for 1,442 yards and five touchdowns to three interceptions in the six games he’s played.
Hackett, formerly the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, has been under tight scrutiny since his debut in Week 1 when he failed to use his timeouts in the final two minutes of a primetime game against the Seahawks, which they lost after attempting a 64-yard field goal instead of trying to go for it on fourth-and-5 with Wilson.
While it seems unlikely the Broncos would take such a drastic measure at this point in the season, it is clear that if Hackett cannot turn things around soon his stint in Denver may be short-lived.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram