Denver Broncos fans don't really need many more reasons to be thankful that the Nathaniel Hackett era is in the distant past, but he keeps giving them more and more reasons to be.
Hackett had a stint as the offensive coordinator of the New York Jets right after his time in Denver, followed by one season as a defensive analyst for the Packers in 2025. He's now resurfaced once again as an offensive coordinator, this time with Mike LaFleur on the Arizona Cardinals' staff.
As the Cardinals have gotten underway with their own training camp, Hackett has already had the chance to meet the media and talk about some of the exciting new players they have on that side of the ball. The player generating the most excitement for that fan base in 2026 is 3rd overall pick Jeremiyah Love, the team's top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
And of course, Hackett found a way to send a wave of panic through the fan base with his harsh initial assessment of Love's first few days in camp.
Nathaniel Hackett's comments on Jeremiyah Love prove the former Broncos HC just doesn't get it
#Cardinals OC Nathaniel Hackett
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) July 25, 2026
on whether he sees the RB room as having a starter: “I’m really excited about it. Excited for James [Conner] to get out there and show what he’s got. I mean, all the guys.”
on Jeremiyah Love’s progression: “I mean, he’s definitely a rookie” pic.twitter.com/YcVTBfkrMV
This comes across the worst possible way it can, no matter what Hackett's intent was here.
If the intention was to prop up James Conner and make sure fans and media don't forget about the veteran in the group, then there are plenty of other ways to go about that. But this is a Cardinals fan base that is not oblivious to the fact that this could be a tough rebuilding and reloading year.
They want to hear that their rookie running back is either looking good or that the coaching staff is going to do everything possible to make sure he's set up for success. This type of comment from Hackett makes it sound like he's deliberately throwing Love under the bus in order to create some sort of contrived chip on Love's shoulder.
The Cardinals not only spent the 3rd overall pick on Jeremiyah Love, but gave him an unprecedented contract guarantee at the running back position in the process. The verbiage they use as an organization when it comes to his development has to be unanimously positive as they work to make him a focal point on the team.
Hackett's comments make it seem like that's not the priority, and that is extremely unfortunate for both him and their fans.
Regardless of how excited Hackett actually is about the potential of Jeremiyah Love in his offense, this kind of discouraging assessment of his performance early on at camp is more reflective of him than it is of the rookie running back.
Broncos Country knows from experience what it's like to deal with these kinds of issues from Hackett, and as frustrating as Sean Payton can be at times, he's a breath of fresh air by comparison, even on his worst day.
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