The Denver Broncos have improved to 4-10 in the 2022 season which has been one of the worst in the history of the team.
There are three weeks left in the season and while there are several players who need to finish the year strong, many fans within Broncos Country have already made a decision on the future of Nathaniel Hackett regardless of how he finishes this season.
Earlier, I wrote about how Hackett could retain his job simply because the organization might not be able to find an option that blows them away. Regardless of how coveted some fans see this position, that is a legitimate possibility.
Now, there is even more evidence that the team could be compelled to hang onto Hackett, at least for one more year and no, it has nothing to do with the team defeating the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in a game that boiled down to a preseason-type atmosphere based on the players who were on the field.
But this report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter paints a picture of the league preaching patience to the 32 franchises.
At this past week’s owners meetings, the league went into great detail about how much money teams are wasting by firing coaches, general managers and those in key positions before their contracts are up. Because, what may get lost in the process of quickly firing a head coach, for example, is the fact that you are paying them whether they are there or not for the duration of that contract.
The Broncos are on their third head coach since winning Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.
Though a quick argument to this idea is how much money the new ownership group in Denver has, this would have also been the first owners meeting that they attended and this is one of the main focal points. It likely got them thinking, at the very least.
The NFL is essentially asking owners to at least consider some patience with their hires and though this ownership group did not hire Hackett, the league is also saying that just because you have the money to throw around does not mean that you should.
Make no mistake, I am not advocating for Hackett to be retained in any way. He has more than earned his pink slip already. However, his being fired as soon as the season commences is not going to be the easy slam dunk that many seem to think it is.