Nathaniel Hackett's coaching history and record: Tracking the former Broncos head coach's achievements in NFL

Nathaniel Hackett came and saw, but he could not conquer. Sixteen weeks into the 2022 NFL season, the rookie head coach has been shown the door by the Denver Broncos.

It is important to note that there had been whispers of Hackett being fired at the end of the season, but his side's 51-14 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams sealed the deal. Hackett is the first rookie NFL head coach to be fired before the end of his debut season since Urban Meyers last season.

The Nathaniel Hackett experience was a failure for all parties involved: Hackett, the Broncos, the Broncos fans, and maybe even Russell Wilson. So much for bringing the fire of the Green Bay offense to Denver, as the former career offensive coordinator will look for a new job.

While looking forward to what the Denver head office has in store, we will look at Hackett's coaching legacy before he took the Broncos head coach gig.

Nathaniel Hackett's coaching history and record

Nathaniel Hackett started his coaching career at his alma mater, UC Davis. His first gig was as the assistant linebackers coach at UC Davis, a role he took to develop his overall approach to football coaching.

He was on the Davis payroll for less than a year before he accepted a role as the offensive/defensive assistant to the coordinators. This role saw him help the offensive and defensive coordinators in match preparation. He occupied the role for under two years, impressing so much that he was promoted to specialists/recruiting coordinator for the 2005 college season and beyond. Ever the ambitious mind, Hackett stayed on with Stanford till 2006, before he accepted his first job in the National Football League (NFL).

Hackett accepted an offer to be an offensive quality control coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under one of his childhood heroes, Jon Gruden. He was an asset to the Bucs' coaching room, and he learned quite a lot in his sole season there before moving to the Buffalo Bills in the same role. Hackett only stuck around for a short time, as the lure of improving his coaching skills with college football was too strong to ignore. Hence, he made a move back to the NCAA.

Hackett served in an array of coordinator roles at Syracuse University under Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone, who played a major role in shaping Hackett's career. Eventually, Marrone took Hackett along as he moved to the NFL in 2013. Hackett followed suit and became the Bills' offensive coordinator the next year. He followed Marrone to Jacksonville when the latter took over the Jacksonville Jaguars job in 2015.

All things must end, even the good ones, so Hackett eventually left the city of Jacksonville and the mentorship of Marrone to accept the offensive coordinator job at the Green Bay Packers in 2019. The role was a match made in football heaven, as Hackett helped guide a resurgent Aaron Rodgers to back-to-back MVP awards and a slew of division-leading winning seasons.

Following an immensely successful three-year spell at Green Bay, Hackett accepted the head coach job at the Denver Broncos, as he aimed to bring over the winning culture to the constant underachievers. Easier said than done, as Hackett's Broncos spell has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. He was fired on December 26, 2022, as the Broncos sat at 4–11 heading into Week 17.

Nathaniel Hackett's achievements in the NFL

Hackett has achieved a decent amount as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. He was a major part of what made the Green Bay Packers become one of the most feared offenses in the entire league. As mentioned initially, he helped Aaron Rodgers rediscover his form and become arguably the best quarterback in the NFL. Since Hackett departed from the Packers, Rodgers has regressed, and we aren't giving prices for who knows why that is the case.

Unfortunately, for Hackett and the Denver Broncos, the former career coordinator could not repeat the trick with the team. That was a major reason for his hire in the first place.

What next for Nathaniel Hackett?

Nathaniel Hackett will likely take a step back from active coaching as he calculates the next step. The recently fired Denver head coach is only 43 years old, so there's more than enough time to have a successful NFL coaching career.

With the huge amounts of money that top-tier colleges are paying their head coaches, maybe Hackett could consider that option. It is not easy to lose the job of your dreams, especially during the festivities. Fingers crossed, we see Nathaniel Hackett back on coaching in the NFL someday, as such a great offensive mind needs to be appreciated on the grandest of stages.