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Nathaniel Hackett

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Nathaniel Hackett
New York Jets
Position:Offensive coordinator
Personal information
Born: (1979-12-19) December 19, 1979 (age 45)
Fullerton, California, U.S.
Career information
High school:Blue Valley Northwest
College:UC Davis (1999–2002)
Career history
As a coach:
Head coaching record
Regular season:4–11 (.267)
Record at Pro Football Reference

Nathaniel Hackett (born December 19, 1979) is an American football coach who is the demoted offensive coordinator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). A former long-time assistant to Doug Marrone, Hackett previously served as the offensive coordinator for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills. He held several positions for the Syracuse Orange in college football from 2010 to 2012.[1] He served as the head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2022, but was fired during the season after a 4–11 record.

Coaching career

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Early career

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After working as an assistant coach for UC Davis and Stanford, Hackett began his NFL career as a quality coach under Jon Gruden with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006. He served there for two years before moving to the Buffalo Bills in that same role for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He worked with quarterbacks such as Bruce Gradkowski, Chris Simms, Jeff Garcia, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Brian Brohm during those years. In 2010, Hackett was hired by Syracuse as their quarterbacks and tight ends coach under Doug Marrone,[2] who he would later follow to Buffalo and Jacksonville. Hackett was promoted to offensive coordinator the following year.[3]

Buffalo Bills

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In 2013, the Bills hired Marrone as their head coach, and Hackett was brought back to Buffalo as the offensive coordinator.[1] With quarterbacks EJ Manuel, Thad Lewis, and Jeff Tuel, the Bills ranked 29th in passing offense that year, but had a prolific running game with halfbacks C. J. Spiller and Fred Jackson. When Kyle Orton took over for Manuel as the Bills' quarterback the following year, the team finished with a more respectable passing offense, but the run game suffered.[3]

Jacksonville Jaguars

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Marrone opted out of his contract with the Bills following the 2014 season, and was then hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an offensive line and assistant head coach, bringing Hackett with him once again. In 2016, after Marrone was promoted to interim head coach after the firing of Gus Bradley, Hackett was upgraded from quarterbacks coach to interim offensive coordinator after the Jaguars also fired their previous offensive coordinator, Greg Olson. He was confirmed on that position in January 2017.[4]

Working with quarterback Blake Bortles and running back Leonard Fournette, Hackett coordinated the league's best rushing attack in 2017, leading to Jacksonville winning the AFC South and appearing in the AFC Championship game.[3] However, after the Jaguars failed to repeat their success the following year and started 3–8, Hackett was fired by Marrone on November 26, 2018, after the Jaguars lost to the Buffalo Bills 24–21, a move that surprised him.[5][6]

Green Bay Packers

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On January 14, 2019, Hackett was hired by the Green Bay Packers as their offensive coordinator under head coach Matt LaFleur.[7] Hackett, alongside star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, led the Packers to becoming the league's best scoring offense in the 2020 season.[8] Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards (2020, 2021) with Hackett.

Denver Broncos

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On January 27, 2022, Hackett was hired to become the head coach of the Denver Broncos after the team had parted company with their former head coach Vic Fangio.[9]

In his head-coaching debut against the Seattle Seahawks, Hackett came under scrutiny when the Broncos faced a 4th-and-5 at midfield with over a minute left to play in the fourth quarter. Despite having three timeouts, Hackett decided to let the clock run down to 20 seconds left for a chance at a game-winning 64-yard field goal. The kick by Brandon McManus was wide left as the Broncos lost, 17–16.[10][11] The next day, Hackett expressed regret in his decision, stating, "Looking back at it, we definitely should have gone for it."[12]

Hackett was again criticized for his clock management in the Broncos' week two matchup against the Houston Texans, a game that Denver would go on to win 16–9.[13][14] The Broncos subsequently hired Jerry Rosburg to serve as an assistant to Hackett to help him with game and clock management, beginning with their week three matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.[15] On November 20, Hackett ceded play–calling duties to quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak.[16]

On December 26, with the Broncos sitting at 4–11 following a 51–14 Christmas Day loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Hackett was fired by the Broncos and was replaced by interim head coach Jerry Rosburg for the last two games of the 2022-23 season.[17][18][19] He became the fifth head coach since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970 to not finish his first season after Lou Holtz in 1976, Pete McCulley in 1978, Bobby Petrino in 2007, and Urban Meyer in 2021.[20] Hackett's tenure as the Broncos' head coach has since been regarded as among the worst head coaching tenures in team and league history, including by his successor Sean Payton, who would later apologize for his comments.[21][22][23][24][25][26]

New York Jets

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On January 28, 2023, the New York Jets announced they had hired Hackett as their new offensive coordinator, in the wake of Mike LaFleur's firing.[27]

After the firing of head coach Robert Saleh and a 2–3 start to the Jets' 2024 season, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich stripped Hackett of playcalling duties.[28]

Head coaching record

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Team Year Regular season Post season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
DEN 2022 4 11 0 .267 Fired — — — —
Total 4 11 0 .267 0 0 .000

Personal life

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He is the son of former college football and NFL coach Paul Hackett.[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gaughan, Mark (January 8, 2013). "Marrone's first hire is familiar face". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  2. ^ Smith, Connor (March 28, 2022). "'He's a savant of football': Nathaniel Hackett's road from SU to the Denver Broncos". The Daily Orange. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Western, Evan "Tex" (January 15, 2019). "Nathaniel Hackett's coaching history is littered with bad quarterbacks". Acme Packing Company. SB Nation.
  4. ^ "Jaguars retain Hackett as offensive coordinator, add Hobby | Pro32: Head to Head". Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  5. ^ Domin, Hank (November 26, 2018). "Jaguars fire Nathaniel Hackett, former offensive coordinator for Syracuse, Bills". NewYorkUpstate.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  6. ^ "Jaguars fire offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett after loss to Bills". The Buffalo News. November 26, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  7. ^ Shook, Nick (January 14, 2019). "Packers hiring Nathaniel Hackett as Matt LaFleur's OC". NFL.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "2020 NFL Standings & Team Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  9. ^ DiLalla, Aric (January 27, 2022). "Broncos agree to terms with Nathaniel Hackett as head coach". Denver Broncos. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  10. ^ Clarke, Mary (September 13, 2022). "NFL fans ripped Broncos' head coach Nathaniel Hackett after bizarre 64-yard field goal attempt to end the game". USA Today. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  11. ^ "Broncos confound everyone with decision to try 64-yard field goal". NBC Sports. September 12, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  12. ^ Smith, Michael (September 13, 2022). "Nathaniel Hackett: "Looking back at it, we definitely should have gone for it"". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Kalaf, Samer (September 19, 2022). "The Concept Of Time Has Nathaniel Hackett In A Headlock". Defector. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Patra, Kevin (September 19, 2022). "Broncos fans count down play clock as offensive struggles continue in win over Texans". NFL.com. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  15. ^ Klis, Mike (September 24, 2022). "Hackett brings in veteran coach Jerry Rosburg as game management resource". KUSA 9 News Denver. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  16. ^ "Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett turns over play-calling duties to quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak". NFL.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  17. ^ "Broncos part ways with Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett". www.denverbroncos.com. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  18. ^ "Denver Broncos fire coach Nathaniel Hackett after 4-11 start". ESPN.com. December 26, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  19. ^ Shook, Nick (December 26, 2022). "Broncos fire coach Nathaniel Hackett after 4-11 start to first season in Denver". NFL.com.
  20. ^ "Nathaniel Hackett fired: Broncos coach just fifth since 1970 merger to not finish end of first season". CBSSports.com. December 26, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  21. ^ "Denver Broncos Saw 'Historic Ineptitude' From Fired Head Coach". April 3, 2023.
  22. ^ "Nathaniel Hackett fired: Broncos coach just fifth since 1970 merger to not finish end of first season". December 26, 2022.
  23. ^ "NFL's 20 Worst Head Coaches Since 1990". December 17, 2021.
  24. ^ "Jets hire Nathaniel Hackett, confirm Aaron Rodgers charm offensive is on". January 26, 2023.
  25. ^ "Sean Payton rips Nathaniel Hackett for Broncos job, jabs Jets". July 27, 2023.
  26. ^ Crean, Tim (July 28, 2023). "Regrets Or Not, Sean Payton Was Right About Broncos, Nathaniel Hackett". ClutchPoints. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  27. ^ Reardon, Logan (January 26, 2023). "Jets hire Nathaniel Hackett as OC despite Nick Caley interest". NBC Sports Boston. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  28. ^ Cimini, Rich (October 10, 2024). "Jets demote Nathaniel Hackett, tap Todd Downing to call offense". ESPN. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  29. ^ DiLalla, Aric (February 2, 2022). "'I couldn't be prouder': Longtime coach Paul Hackett relishes son Nathaniel's chance to lead Broncos". Denver Broncos. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
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