The Nathaniel Hackett era in Denver was nothing short of disastrous. The Denver Broncos made Hackett one of just a small handful (five) rookie head coaches in NFL history to be fired before the end of their first season after an embarrassing performance on Christmas Day against the Los Angeles Rams.
Hackett went from getting clowned by Patrick Star on National TV to being fired by the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group the day after Christmas. It was understandable that he was so pumped for his team to beat the Broncos the very next season, but his vindication was short-lived.
Hackett was demoted last year as offensive coordinator of the New York Jets, even with a healthy Aaron Rodgers under center. After his demotion by the Jets and the dismissal of the entire coaching staff, Hackett was left without a job...until recently.
Former Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett is back with the Packers
At Packers camp today—coach Matt LaFleur says former OC Nathaniel Hackett has rejoined the staff in "an analyst role for our defense." This is becoming more common across the league, where an offensive coach comes in to give the defense his perspective or vice versa.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 24, 2025
According to Albert Breer, Hackett has returned to coach with the Green Bay Packers this year under Matt LaFleur, though not as an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach...or even an offensive coach in general.
No, LaFleur basically made up a role for Hackett to return to his staff in Green Bay, making him an analyst for the defense, of all things. Hackett will be adding his input for defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley with the Packers, though nobody could possibly know at this point how substantial that role will be.
This is a classic situation of a friend helping out a friend, and Hackett is apparently not above that. If nothing else, Hackett loves the game and is a great guy to have around the building. He was horrendous as a head coach and clearly wasn't the one really pulling the strings during Aaron Rodgers's MVP seasons.
At this point, Broncos fans should perhaps be grateful that things went as poorly with Hackett as they did. Getting him out of the building before the end of the season allowed the ownership group to conduct an expansive head coaching search, which ended with the team hiring Sean Payton.
And Payton is one of the truly elite coaches and culture builders in the NFL today. The Broncos have a good thing going with Payton, who is not just a great coach and culture builder, but has a great eye for talent. He's helped George Paton transform the roster from being perceived as one of the worst in the NFL to one of the best.
And if it weren't for Nathaniel Hackett's incompetence in the head coach role, we might not be experiencing that fruit today.