Getty
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 13: Head coach Nathaniel Hackett of the Denver Broncos talks with Russell Wilson #3 during the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on November 13, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Former Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett is back in the NFL spotlight.
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Hackett has joined the Miami Dolphins coaching staff as quarterbacks coach.
For Broncos fans, the news landed less like a routine hiring and more like an unwelcome flashback.
Hackett will join first-year Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley, working under offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik in Miami.
The role is notably smaller than Hackett’s previous stops.
He will have no play-calling duties and no offense to run. He will be in charge of developing quarterbacks.
Still, for anyone who lived through Denver’s 2022 season, Hackett’s hiring will spark a reaction amongst Broncos fans.
Broncos Fans Remember the 2022 Disaster All Too Well
Hackett’s lone season in Denver remains one of the most infamous coaching tenures in franchise history.
Hired in January 2022 to “unlock” Russell Wilson, Hackett finished with a 4-11 record, an offense that finished dead last in scoring, and weekly chaos that quickly became national punchlines.
The issues went far beyond the scoreboard.
Hackett was heavily criticized for poor in-game management, most memorably in his debut against Seattle when he opted for a 64-yard field-goal attempt rather than going for it on 4th-and-5.
The decision drew instant backlash and set the tone for his tenure in Denver.
Things deteriorated so fast that Denver hired veteran assistant Jerry Rosburg midseason just to help with basic game-day operations.
By November, Hackett had surrendered play-calling duties to Klint Kubiak.
After a humiliating 51-14 loss to the Rams on Christmas Day, he was fired after just 15 games.
New Broncos head coach Sean Payton later called it “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL,” a quote that still circulates whenever Hackett’s name resurfaces.
Why Miami Thinks This Time Will Be Different
To Miami’s credit, the situation is very different.
Hackett won’t be asked to design an offense or manage games.
He’ll work strictly as a position coach, helping develop a quarterback room that could be in transition after Miami benched Tua Tagovailoa late in the season.
There’s also history at play.
Hackett previously worked with Hafley in Green Bay, and his most successful NFL stretch came as a non-play-calling offensive coordinator with the Packers from 2019-21, when Aaron Rodgers won back-to-back MVPs.
Rodgers has long vouched for Hackett’s value as a teacher and communicator, despite his reputation taking major hits in both Denver and New York.
Broncos Country will now just be watching, grateful the Hackett experiment ended years ago.
More Heavy on Broncos
Loading more stories
