Broncos fire head coach Nathaniel Hackett after 15 games

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Nathaniel Hackett Era in Denver is over.

The Denver Broncos fired Hackett, their head coach, Monday morning. The 43-year-old was previously the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills. He had never served as a head coach before. The Broncos currently have a 4-11 record and are in second-to-last place in the NFL.

The team has not announced who will serve as interim head coach. The Broncos have two games left, the first against the Chiefs and the second against the Chargers.

The move comes less than 24 hours after the Broncos’ 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Day. The Rams came into the day as the second-worst scoring offense in the NFL—only ahead of Denver—and were starting their fourth quarterback of the season. The Broncos gave up their most points allowed since 2017, turned the ball over four times, were called for multiple personal fouls out of frustration and saw a shoving match on the bench between guard Dalton Risner, backup quarterback Brett Rypien and running back Latavius Murray.

The Rams game was the sixth time the Broncos had played as the only NFL game on national TV and was the Broncos’ fifth loss in those games. They averaged 14 points per game in those outings, which turned them into a running joke among NFL fans. The Rams game was also the Broncos’ 10th loss in their past 12 games.

Hackett was hired by general manager George Paton on behalf of the Pat Bowlen Trust on Jan. 27. He was heralded as a bright, up-and-coming offensive mind and ran a West Coast offensive scheme with a zone running game that harkened back to the Broncos’ glory days in the late ’90s.

The Broncos traded a massive haul for star quarterback Russell Wilson two months later, but Hackett and Wilson never got off the ground. The Broncos’ offense averaged 15.5 points per game this season, easily the worst in the NFL. Wilson has thrown for 12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, well off his previous career averages of 29.2 touchdowns and 8.7 interceptions. His quarterback rating and QBR are by far the worst of the 34-year-old’s career.

Hackett becomes the third coach in NFL history to be fired before the end of his first season. The most recent was Urban Meyer last season. The other was Pete McCulley in 1978.

The Walton-Penner Ownership Group took control of the Broncos in August and will now run their first coaching search. Other changes could be on the way, including replacing Paton or trying to find a way to move on from Wilson, which would leave the team with up to $107 million in dead cap space next season.

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Statement from Broncos Owner & CEO Greg Penner:

On behalf of our ownership and organization, I want to thank Nathaniel Hackett for his dedication as head coach of the Denver Broncos. We sincerely appreciate Nathaniel’s efforts and wish him and his family all the best in the future.

Following extensive conversations with George and our ownership group, we determined a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos. This change was made now out of respect for everyone involved and allows us to immediately begin the search for a new head coach.

We recognize and appreciate this organization’s championship history, and we understand we have not met that standard. Our fans deserve much better, and I can’t say enough about their loyalty during such a challenging stretch for our team.

Moving forward, we will carefully evaluate every aspect of our football operations and make whatever changes are necessary to restore this franchise’s winning tradition.

I will lead our head coaching search with support from our ownership group and George, whom I have confidence in as our general manager. As we begin the process of selecting our next head coach, we remain focused on playing competitive football to finish the season on a positive note.”