Early rumors on who Nathaniel Hackett will bring to Broncos as OC, DC
The Denver Broncos have hired Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as head coach. Who could be OC and DC?
The Denver Broncos are bringing in Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett as their new head coach on a four-year deal.
Hackett was one of three finalists for the Broncos’ job including Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, who would not have been able to interview with the team a second time this week as Hackett did and Quinn was apparently supposed to at some point.
The fact that Hackett was in the building on Monday spoke volumes about the team’s initial meeting with him, and also the fact that Dan Quinn didn’t have a second meeting solidified certainly spoke volumes of what the team felt about Hackett, in general.
Who will Nathaniel Hackett bring with him to the Broncos?
Now that Hackett is in place as the team’s head coach, he’s going to start forming a staff around him. Typically in the NFL, you have a plan for this as you get into the hiring process and start interviewing with teams, so it’s no surprise that some names are already popping up to potentially be Hackett’s offensive and defensive coordinator in Denver.
With the #Rams still playing, this won’t be immediate. But the leading candidate for DC is Ejiro Evero. As for OC, the #Broncos will request OL coach and run game coordinator Adam Stenavich. https://t.co/s15ZfrdxtN
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 27, 2022
It’s no surprise to see Hackett potentially poaching from the staff he was just on with the Green Bay Packers to bring in offensive line coach/run game coordinator Adam Stenavich, though many figured the Broncos would just try to hire Luke Getsy who was previously interviewed for the head coaching job.
Getsy is the Packers’ quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator and he was always sort of a no-brainer choice given his interview for the Broncos head coaching position. However, it’s also clear that the Packers will likely offer him a promotion so that continuity under Matt LaFleur may make more sense for him.
Stenavich has worked as an offensive line coach under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay and under Kyle Shanahan before that with the 49ers. He may not be the most obvious name out there as a potential up-and-coming offensive coordinator but he’s certainly been in the right coaching trees.
As for the potential of hiring Los Angeles Rams assistant Ejiro Evero, I think that’s a move that Broncos fans will ultimately be very excited about.
Evero was a teammate of Hackett’s when the two were in college at UC Davis and he was nearly hired last offseason as the Packers’ defensive coordinator. Instead, he became the secondary coach and pass game coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams, who are in the NFL’s final four at this particular moment in time.
That, of course, means that the Broncos can’t interview him for the DC position until after Sunday’s Championship games.
One thing I think Broncos fans will love about Evero? He has worked for Wade Phillips (Rams) and Brandon Staley, bringing the best of both of those worlds to his potential scheme overall.
We’ll have to wait and see what kind of hires Hackett makes at the coordinator positions. Obviously these two would be first-time offensive and defensive coordinators at any level.
Clearly, the vision Hackett sold to general manager George Paton was a good one.