Denver Broncos hire Nathaniel Hackett to be their next head coach

Hackett has been the Packers offensive coordinator for the last three years

According to Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union, the plan for Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett on Thursday was to take a trip to Jacksonville for his second interview for the Jaguars’ head coaching vacancy. Instead, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, contract negotiations heated up with Hackett and the Denver Broncos late on Wednesday, leading to Hackett taking the Broncos head coaching job before ever hopping on that plane to Jacksonville.

Hackett, despite not being the offensive play-caller, assisted the Packers in the game-planning process with an emphasis in the red zone. Earlier this week, head coach Matt LaFleur stated that if the Packers did lose Hackett, which he sounded like he expected, the team would promote someone in-house to replace Hackett as offensive coordinator.

From an outsider’s perspective, the two leaders in the clubhouse to replace Hackett as in-house hires are quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Luke Getsy and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Adam Stenavich. Not only do both have coordinator titles already, but Getsy was also interviewed for the Broncos head coaching vacancy this month. The Carolina Panthers, before hiring Ben McAdoo, interviewed Getsy during their offensive coordinator search, too.

Elsewhere, the Chicago Bears have hired Matt Eberflus, the former Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator, to be their head coach. Packers fans may be delighted to hear that the Bears didn’t hire an offensive mind to pair with first-round quarterback Justin Fields. Two days ago, Chicago hired Ryan Poles, a former director of player personnel with the Kansas City Chiefs, to take over as the team’s general manager.