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Three best moves of George Paton era as Denver Broncos GM

By Lou Scataglia

Jan 28, 2022; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos GM George Paton shakes hand with Nathaniel Hackett after announcing him as the club’s head coach at a press conference at UC Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Leyba-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2022; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos GM George Paton shakes hand with Nathaniel Hackett after announcing him as the club’s head coach at a press conference at UC Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Leyba-USA TODAY Sports /
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ENGLEWOOD, CO – MARCH 16: Quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Denver Broncos address the media as (L) General Manager George Paton of the Denver Broncos and Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett of the Denver Broncos look on at UCHealth Training Center on March 16, 2022 in Englewood, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
ENGLEWOOD, CO – MARCH 16: Quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Denver Broncos address the media as (L) General Manager George Paton of the Denver Broncos and Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett of the Denver Broncos look on at UCHealth Training Center on March 16, 2022 in Englewood, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

George Paton’s second-best move with the Denver Broncos so far

2. Replacing Vic Fangio with an offensive guy

Vic Fangio is an excellent defensive coordinator but has proven to be a much less effective head coach, which is fine.

Just because Fangio didn’t succeed in Denver, does not mean he’s not a good coach.  He is perhaps the best defensive mind of this generation and was a very logical hire for Denver before the 2019 season began.

However, as his tenure went on, it became clear that his approach was not working.

So, George Paton made an excellent decision in replacing him, but not only just replacing him, but replacing him with an offensive-minded head coach.

The NFL is a copycat league, and it’s easy to see where the coaching tendencies have been heading.

Offensive-minded head coaches are in style, and most are doing well.

Three of the four coaches left during championship weekend were offensive-minded, and the head coaches in each of the last three Super Bowls were all offensive guys.

It’s clear that this has been where the NFL is heading, and it’s nice to see Paton follow suit.

Most of the head coaches hired this cycle were offensive-minded coaches.

Even if George Paton hired Kellen Moore or Mike McDaniel, I’d still be writing this.  Offensive coaches seem to be the most forward-thinking and proactive ones, and with Russell Wilson now in town, giving him an offensive head coach for the first time in his career makes loads of sense.

I would expect the Hackett/Wilson marriage to last a long time in Denver.  What makes this even better is Hackett isn’t going anywhere if the Denver Broncos’ offense becomes one of the league’s best.

Usually, offensive coordinators get poached to be a head coach elsewhere.  For the Denver Broncos, Nathaniel Hackett is the one designing the offense and calling the plays, so he is the de-facto offensive coordinator.

Hiring a younger, offensive guy to replace an older, defensive coach was an incredibly smart decision.

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