Denver Broncos: If Vic Fangio is let go, who might George Paton turn to next?

With the Denver Broncos falling short of expectations in 2021, current head coach, Vic Fangio, could find himself in muddy waters. If Fangio is relieved of his duties, who might Denver Broncos’ general manager, George Paton, look to fill his shoes?

Throughout this process, I’d like to run through some options that could be viable, if the Denver Broncos are looking for a new head coach in 2022. Nothing is set in stone yet, Vic Fangio remains the team’s head coach.

However, the team has undoubtedly fallen short of expectations. First-year general manager filled all of Fangio’s requests in the offseason by acquiring his desired quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, revamping the secondary via the draft and free agency, and even brought back the aggressive mouthpiece of the defense in Kareem Jackson.

Prior to the season beginning, KOA Insider, Benjamin Allbright, said it was basically playoffs or bust for Fangio and his staff. Barring any sort of miracle, it is presumably going to be a “bust.”

With Fangio comes a great defensive mind, but he has also had many blunders in holding his staff accountable, holding himself accountable, showing favoritism by holding certain players accountable, while not so much with others, issues with challenges, etc.

All of these blunders are a part of the make-up that makes a head coach in the NFL successful.

So who might be some options that the Denver Broncos and George Paton might consider if Vic Fangio is booted out of Dove Valley?

• Nathaniel Hackett
• Doug Pederson
• Dan Quinn
• Leslie Frazier
• Kellen Moore
• Todd Bowles

On this list, there are defensive-minded head coaches as well as offensive gurus. This isn’t to say that only these guys will be interviewed, some of them may not be interviewed at all. But with reports from Benjamin Allbright amongst others in Denver media, along with some personal touches, this is a list that I think provides a great start.

Everyone has their personal preference on which direction they think Paton should go, but I will start this mini-series off by taking a dive into current Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett.

Who is Nathaniel Hackett?

Hackett is the son of Paul Hackett, former offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets. Paul Hackett began his coaching career in the early 1970s at the collegiate level. Paul Hackett’s first major role as an offensive coordinator began with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993 and continued on until the early 2000s with the New York Jets.

Before he made the leap to a big boy offensive coordinator, he spent several years as a collegiate quarterbacks coach, he even served as the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh and USC.

While this could ultimately mean nothing for Nathaniel, it does show he has some pretty legitimate lineage when it comes to knowledge and leadership. This surely helped Nathaniel get his first gig at just 23 years old as the assistant linebacker’s coach at UC Davis, his lone job on the defensive side of the ball.

Since that time, Nathaniel has progressed his way through the collegiate and NFL ranks. Nathaniel spent four years as the offensive quality control coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills from 2006-2009. Afterward, he dropped back down to serve as the offensive coordinator for Syracuse, before ultimately heading back to Buffalo to be the offensive coordinator for two seasons.

During his time in Buffalo, Hackett had the pleasure of working with a couple of underwhelming quarterback options in E.J. Manuel and yes, former Denver Bronco, Kyle Orton. During his two seasons in Buffalo as the OC, the Bills ranked 22nd and 18th in respected scoring, averaging just above 21 points in both seasons.

Sure, that isn’t astounding numbers, but neither were his choices at the quarterback position.

After his stint in Buffalo ended, Hackett moved down south to Duval where he initially caught on as the team’s quarterbacks coach. If Hackett wanted to impress George Paton, this stat alone would have to raise Paton’s eyebrows.

In 2017, under Nathaniel Hackett’s offense, the Blake Bortles-led Jacksonville Jaguars offense averaged 26 points per game, good enough for fifth in the NFL. While this didn’t last long, magic can only be expected for a brief period. In 2018, Hackett became the third offensive coordinator that was relieved of his duties while trying to muster up success with Blake Bortles at the helm.

Long story short, while Hackett has had some success in the NFL, he has also been a part of some very underwhelming rosters. Obviously, Matt LaFleur trusted Hackett with his job. LaFleur brought Hackett in the very next season after he was fired from the Jacksonville Jaguars, under the same title.

Not only does LaFleur trust Hackett, but so does MVP candidate and future Hall of Famer, Aaron Rodgers. When Hackett interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach position just last year, Rodgers had some incredible things to say on the behalf of Hackett.

Rodgers said,

"“I think one of the pre-reqs to being a good head coach is presence in front of a room. You have to have a unique charisma and an ability to captivate your audience,” Rodgers said. “Part of that captivation is in the way you talk, your cadence, your inflection, storytelling ability. I think those are underrated qualities that a coach can have. Nate has all those things.“He’s able to captivate the audience, which is usually the offense. Any time he gets up in his meetings, he has great energy. I don’t know how he does it sometimes, but to have a beautiful wife and four kids and all the demands that being a father has on you, and then to be able to bring it every single day at the facility is very admirable. He’s been around football a long time. His dad obviously is one of the legendary coaches of this profession. So he has the pedigree, but his presence. He brings such a great positive energy to a room.“I think any team would be lucky to have him in their squad.”"

Those are some glowing remarks coming from someone like Aaron Rodgers.

Another interesting tidbit from this article is LaFleur’s credit to Hackett in regards to the Packers’ red-zone success, or as Hackett calls it, the gold zone.

Over the past couple of days, there have been articles and or suggestions from not only Woody Paige, but Peter King also, stating that the Denver Broncos should pursue the duo. I’d like to think the majority of Broncos Country would be smitten with bringing this pair to the Mile High City, but everyone has their own flavor.

For most Denver Broncos fans, there is a mutual agreement that the team is just a quarterback away. There also could be a massive upgrade from a play-calling perspective, as well as a true leader of the team. Hearing what Aaron Rodgers has said about Hackett, what else needs to be said?

Hackett has been successful with Blake Bortles throwing the ball to Marqise Lee, Keelan Cole, and Allen Hurns. Imagine what Hackett could draw up for Aaron Rodgers and this group of weapons that the Denver Broncos have.

This will be a long process, that may never even take place.

However, if Vic Fangio is no longer the Denver Broncos head coach in 2022, Nathaniel Hackett would be one of the coaches that I would keep a close eye on. Maybe he could even drag Aaron Rodgers along with him.