At the first team meeting of 2022, Justin Simmons and the Broncos learned how 'genuine' Nathaniel Hackett is

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — This is the third time in seven seasons that Broncos safety Justin Simmons has sat through an initial address to the team from a newly-hired head coach.

At this point, he knows the rhythms. He knows what to expect. A coach is going to introduce himself and the newly-hired staff. He’ll touch on his own past and what he expects.

Hackett did that.

But not right away.

“We came in today, and before [Hackett] got on a spiel about philosophy and who he was and who the coaching staff is, and the guys that he hired, he was just updating us on guys in the room,” Simmons said. “Which, like, my first thing I thought when I was coming in here was all the things that I just said: philosophy, like, this is where I come from, this is the coaching tree I came from, this is this, this is that.

“But it was, ‘Hey, guys, let’s clap it up for Jerry [Jeudy] having [something to celebrate], lets clap it up for Josey [Jewell], let’s clap it up for Brett [Rypien], just recently got married, and there’s a bunch of other guys that have things that are worth celebrating. It’s bigger than football.”

The breath of fresh air Hackett brings to Broncos headquarters isn’t just about scheme and teaching methods. It’s about prioritizing the people over philosophy.

The football stuff — it matters, and it will come. But by opening his first meeting with a focus on the human touch, Hackett made it clear that who the players are as people matters most. What they do as players on the field … that will come, and ideally, it will be better because of the bonds built from connections both great and small.

Even before the player-centric opening minutes of the meeting, Hackett made sure the vibe was different.

“I guess like the thing that stuck out — and it’s not like it was missing from anything in other team meetings past — but the thing that stuck out was just connecting. Every guy would walk in and [Hackett would] be like, ‘What’s up?’ Try to have a real quick conversation or two with most guys.

“And then, the music’s playing, and you guys have heard him talk about his dancing background, so, he likes music, so, he’s talking about music and how inspirational it was for him when he was growing up and all this stuff.

“It just felt like genuine conversation — like, you just meet someone for the first time — ‘Hey, what are your interests? what are you like?‘ — and you’re just talking shop.”

What the players experienced this week is exactly what those who have had the chance to meet and talk with Hackett in recent months have enjoyed. The gregarious Hackett can — and will — engage on almost any subject. Conversations about life and interests and pop culture. Football comes into the mix, no doubt, but it’s just a part of the greater whole — which is connecting as people, not in their professional roles, whether it’s player, coach, team staffer or media representative.

The job is what you do, but not who you are. Hackett gets that. Tuesday, his players got to know what that was like coming from their head coach.

“His energy’s almost unmatched. It’s great. It’s contagious,” Simmons said. “He’s building an environment around here that’s celebratory in the fact that you want to come in, you want to celebrate the ins and outs of guys’ lives. Guys having kids, marriages, people are getting married, upcoming marriages, things that you should know about.

“It’s new, it’s fresh, and so, you appreciate it. It’s been a lot of fun. I know it’s only been technically one day, but just being around him for the past few weeks now, you can tell that he’s special, and he has great energy about him.”

It’s different.