When it comes to coaching elite quarterbacks, this isn’t Nathaniel Hackett’s first rodeo.
Fortunately for the first-time head coach, he goes from coaching Aaron Rodgers to Russell Wilson in a span of less than two months.
It’s safe to say, Hackett played his cards just right by going from one Hall-of-Fame quarterback to another.
But the similarities for Hackett continue beyond just coaching all-time greats. And that will help Hackett and the Broncos as they begin building an offense for, with and around Russell Wilson.
In 2019, not only was Hackett joining the Packers, but so was offensive-minded head coach Matt LaFleur. That allowed Hackett to be involved in the daily process of working and building an offense around an already great quarterback, much like Hackett will be doing in Denver.
“A lot of the stuff that Matt and I did when we first got [to Green Bay], I think has been a lot like it [in Denver],” Hackett said at the NFL’s Annual League Meeting. “It’s kind of that whole process of evaluation of what I want to do as a coach compared to what the quarterback wants. It’s the same thing we did with Aaron [Rodgers].”
“There was a lot of great meetings that we had between the three of us between what’s the right thing to do, what’s better for us, what’s better for him, so I think that going through that process with a veteran quarterback and Matt and watching that whole thing happen was awesome,” Hackett continued. “It’s really going to help me through this because once we get to those conversations, I assume they are going to be a lot alike.”
If Hackett includes his new offensive coordinator, much like LaFleur did with him, then Hackett, Wilson and Justin Outten will be the trio that builds the Broncos’ offense together.
Not every quarterback in the NFL has a seat at the table in building their offense. But stars typically do, as they should. In Hackett’s perspective, that’s a nonnegotiable.
“I think it’s so important to make sure he’s comfortable in everything that he does,” Hackett said, when asked how important it is for Wilson to have input in the system and terminology. “From the cadence to the way that you just call a play I think is so important.”
“When you go out there and all 80,000 people are screaming at you, you want it to be natural,” Hackett elaborated, thrilled to be working with Wilson. “You want to be able to check at the line, change your audibles, you want to be able to switch from play to play, you want to do so many different things. If he’s thinking about that, he’s not going to be playing fast. So for me, we do so much of the same stuff, it’s just about getting that language to be able to cross over. The more that we can talk with each other and once we all get together in April, we’ll just kind of solidify those things and make sure we’re all on the same page.”
The Hackett-Wilson playbook will begin to come together when the team convenes for the start of the offseason workout program on April 11. Hackett’s offense will be based on outside zone and deep shots. But from there, Wilson will have a significant say, which will certainly include many deep shots.
Until then, the two aren’t allowed to talk about football specifics due to NFL rules since it’s still the true offseason. But that hasn’t kept the new head coach-quarterback duo from keeping in touch and building their ever-important relationship.
“I think that this game is very, very important for relationships, and ours especially because it’s such a high-pressure situation,” Hackett stated. “[We’re] getting to know each other—understanding how he works and how I work. We want to be sure that the two of us are on the same page. I think that right now, it’s just about relationships. As we get to that April 11 mark, now we can start diving into the system as much as we can.”
While this will be the first time Hackett and Wilson have built an offense together, it won’t be Hackett’s first time putting together an offense centered around a superstar quarterback.
The last time Hackett did this, Aaron Rodgers went on to win two MVPs in a three-year stretch.
Despite nine Pro Bowls, Wilson has never received an MVP vote. The Wilson-Hackett offense will attempt to change that drastically.
