Following the firing of Nathaniel Hackett, the Denver Broncos have named Jerry Rosburg as their interim head coach for the remainder of the 2022 season.
When the Denver Broncos announced that they were hiring Jerry Rosburg to assist Nathaniel Hackett with game management decisions in September, it is unlikely either party expected the season to unfold the way that it did.
Neither party probably expected that come the end of December, Hackett would be out, and Rosburg would be named the interim head coach. However, that is what has happened. In a matter of hours following the announcement that the Broncos had parted ways with Hackett, it was announced that the Broncos had named Jerry Rosburg the interim head coach.
Sources: Broncos players were just informed that senior assistant coach Jerry Rosburg, whom Nathaniel Hackett hired during the season to aid him in clock management strategy, is now taking over as the Broncos’ interim head coach, effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/WJ8BFXlg3k
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 26, 2022
The announcement drew both surprise and mixed opinions from Broncos Country. It had seemed to be a common belief that if the Denver Broncos pulled the trigger and fired Hackett in-season (which appeared less likely week by week), that either senior defensive assistant Dom Capers, or defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero would serve as the interim head coach.
Evero seemed to be the popular choice after his phenomenal job with the Broncos defense this season (disregarding Sunday’s performance), and it made sense if the Broncos do plan to include Evero as part of the hiring process and grant him an interview. However, this also makes sense to keep Evero under wraps if the Broncos want to retain him for the 2023 season.
Though not the expected candidate, Jerry Rosburg has an impressive resume, and has coached at the collegiate and professional levels for over 40 years combined, his last coaching stint was as the Baltimore Ravens’ special teams coordinator for 11 seasons–Rosburg was on the Ravens’ staff that won Super Bowl XLVII. Rosburg entered the coaching world just one year after graduating from North Dakota State University, beginning his career in 1979 as an assistant at a Fargo high school. In 1981, he would enter the collegiate coaching world, and coached consistently until his retirement in 2019.
Of course, in 2022, he left retirement to assist Nathaniel Hackett, whose struggles with game management were monumental. While Rosburg’s arrival did not help with play-calling matters (Klint Kubiak was later brought in for that), it did feel as if game management almost automatically improved.
While this may not have been the most desirable pick in fans’ opinion, Rosburg is an experienced coach, and his only job is to simply finish the season out. There is not immense pressure on Rosburg to win out, as the Broncos finish out the season on the road to Arrowhead to take on the Chiefs, and finish the season at home against the Chargers, looking to earn a playoff bid.
It is highly, highly unlikely that Rosburg will want any part of the hiring process to be the next head coach of the Denver Broncos, so in the grand scheme of things, what is the worst that can happen by appointing Jerry Rosburg as the interim head coach?
There are two weeks left of football left for the Broncos, and at this point, all that is needed is to limp to the finish line intact, where there is little doubt that Rosburg can accomplish, at the bare minimum.