How Nathaniel Hackett helped the Broncos bring back Billy Turner

PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s not just a football thing for offensive lineman Billy Turner in his decision to re-join the Broncos on a one-year, $5-million contract.

It’s a relationship thing. It’s a friendship thing. It’s a life thing.

And it’s all about how tight Turner is with new head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who coached him in Green Bay for the past three seasons.

“Honestly, I just think me and Hackett are cut from a similar cloth,” Turner said. “We were able to have conversations that aren’t specifically about football. We can talk about everyday life situations. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in the world, we can talk about whatever but it’s funny talking to him a week or two ago, we can also just sit there and sit in silence and enjoy that, also.”

Their relationship was such that when it came time to evaluate Turner as a free-agent option, Broncos general manager George Paton joked that maybe Hackett wasn’t the best source, given how close he was.

“You really couldn’t ask Nathaniel, because he loves him. He was a little biased,” Paton said, smiling, when asked about Hackett and Turner on Sunday at the NFL Annual Meeting. “But he loves him because of the person, the player that he is.

“So, you know Nathaniel, he’s all about relationships, and he has a great relationship with him, and I obviously trust Nathaniel and his evaluation.”

Added Hackett: “I mean, in the beginning, he was a Green Bay Packer, and then, all of a sudden, when the news kind of fell, I think obviously, anybody that you respect, that you think is a great player and a great man, you want him on your team. The fact that it worked out the way it did is awesome for both of us.”

It’s also a family thing.

Not only is Turner close with new Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett, but he’s close with Hackett’s entire family.

“Meeting his daughter Everly and talking with her and the rest of their family — everybody doesn’t like me because I’m a football player. She likes me because of the other things that I do outside of football: the clothing, the art, and all these other things that she has interest in. It’s full circle, 360-degree family type of thing with the Hackett [family]. They’re great people.

“That doesn’t only show through Coach Hackett and the way that he coaches the game and communicate with his players and staff and how he treats people. That’s a full-circle thing with how their family operates and just how they exist in life.”

But it’s about football, as well.

And a key part of the evaluation from a football perspective was how Turner handled cross-training at multiple positions along the offensive line.

“To be able to have that from that standpoint as a coach is just huge, because then you can put the best five out there with a guy like that,” Hackett said. “From his run blocking to his back-side cutoffs to his pass protection, he worked so hard, and he’s a football guy.”

Most of Turner’s work was at right tackle, but his final start in Green Bay — in January’s playoff loss to San Francisco — saw him work at left tackle in place of the injured David Bakhtiari.

“People don’t understand all of a sudden going from right tackle to left tackle to right guard, that’s unbelievable,” Hackett said. “For him to be able to do that and to never complain, to never say anything, to just understand the system, understand how he can play at a high level at all three positions — it was amazing.”

Well, maybe “never complain” was a bit of as stretch.

“I mean, he screams and yells a little bit,” Hackett said with a smile, “but then he goes and gets it done, which is great.”

But then there is the comfortable silence that Hackett and Turner share.

“Every day, before practice, when we were together the last three years in Green Bay, when I would get ready for practice, tape my hands up and what-not, [Hackett] would just come over, he would sit next to me,” Turner said. “Sometimes we would talk about things; sometimes we wouldn’t, but it was just one of those opportunities that we always had daily, to sit there, to communicate, to learn about one another,” Turner said.

“He’s just one of those bright, positive souls that I’ve fortunately had the great pleasure of meeting in this industry, and there’s a lot of people that come and go in the world of professional sports, and when you’re able to meet somebody that is a great person that you’re able to consider a friend like that, you never want to pass up a situation where you have the opportunity to play for someone like that.”

And it’s an opportunity Turner hopes can last.

“I would love to end my career here, if that’s an option for me, and I would love to end my career playing for Coach Hackett,” Turner said. “To play for someone that I consider a great friend, I would consider that a no-brainer.”