If Denver Broncos miss playoffs in 2022, Hackett should be fired
The Denver Broncos are one of the best teams in the NFL, and if they miss the playoffs in 2022, Nathaniel Hackett should be fired. Perhaps I’m jumping the gun here, but I tend to think about the future a lot. The Denver Broncos have a loaded roster with studs at extremely important positions. The team could arguably make a Super Bowl run this season.
With that said, if the Broncos fail to make the playoffs in 2022, I think the organization should waste no time and fire Nathaniel Hackett. I don’t know how Hackett will perform as a head coach. I’m not taking one side or the other. We’ll see how he does when the actual games start. He may be the next great head coach, or he might not be good enough.
I understand that the Broncos have undergone a massive amount of change this offseason. Perhaps the most significant change is bringing in a brand new coaching staff. New coaching staffs are already at a disadvantage, as they have to quickly begin implementing their playbooks, styles, etc. to try and establish their vision for the team.
In some cases, first-year head coaches are put into situations where the entire team needs a rebuild. Examples of this recently are Dan Campbell, Arthur Smith, and Matt Eberflus. In other cases, Hackett, Josh McDaniels, and Mike McDaniel are put into situations where teams just need a fresh face.
The Broncos, on paper, are one of the top seven most talented teams in the NFL. As I’ve mentioned in previous pieces, they are good at the positions that matter the most in today’s NFL. In the most important position, they’re elite. Russell Wilson has played 10 seasons in the NFL. He has led his teams to the playoffs in eight of those seasons and has won 10+ regular season games in eight seasons as well.
Some have said that the team that Wilson is playing on, especially on offense, is the best group of players he’s been with. Moreover, there’s a reason why Russell Wilson’s camp chose the Denver Broncos out of about 13 other teams when they were plotting their exit from Seattle.
Wilson expects to win, and win now. If the Denver Broncos cannot make the playoffs in 2022, and they stay mostly healthy, the problem likely begins with the coaching staff, and I don’t think the organization should mess around if 2022 doesn’t go well. So, for all of those reasons, the Denver Broncos should move on from Nathaniel Hackett as a head coach if the team does not make the playoffs in 2022. Full stop.