Just 15 games into his tenure, the Broncos saw enough of Nathaniel Hackett. But Denver will have a long list of issues to sort through.
— A disastrous 51-14 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams in front of national audience loss proved to be the final straw, as the Denver Broncos fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday after falling to 4-11 in a 2022 season rife with disappointment.
The Broncos, who acquired quarterback Russell Wilson in the offseason in hopes of ending their playoff drought, are averaging a league-worst 15.5 points per game, the team’s fewest since 1971, according to ESPN Stats and Information. They have missed the postseason seven consecutive seasons since winning Super Bowl 50.
Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold and NFL front office insider Mike Tannenbaum answer the biggest questions on Hackett’s firing and what comes next for one the league’s most storied franchises.
The Broncos have spent most of the season as the league’s lowest-scoring offense and quarterback Russell Wilson’s game looks fractured. Denver essentially put on a how-to-get-the-coach-fired clinic on Christmas Day with three Wilson interceptions, a defensive meltdown that allowed the Rams to score on eight of nine possessions and sideline blowups. Outside linebacker Randy Gregory capped it off with pointless penalties and a postgame punch on a Rams player.
