The Broncos plan to interview Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett for their HC opening

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Denver Broncos have requested permission to interview Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett for their head coaching opening. The Broncos fired their former head coach Vic Fangio, a hot name during the 2019 cycle that saw the Packers bring in Matt LaFleur, after a 19-30 record over three years. Denver is now being headed by general manager George Paton, who was hired in 2021 after former quarterback John Elway changed titles from general manager and executive vice president of football operations to the president of football operations.

Along with Hackett, the Broncos have requested permission to interview Cowboys coordinators Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore and Patriots assistant Jerod Mayo. Teams cannot block assistant coaches and coordinators from interviewing for head coaching positions with other teams, even if they are still under contract with another franchise.

Hackett should be a hot name in this cycle, to no one’s surprise. When your quarterback is on pace to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards and your team has won 13 games three seasons straight, other franchises are going to want a piece of that success. The Jacksonville Jaguars already put in their interview request for Hackett in December. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Jacksonville will likely schedule their interview with Hackett on Friday during the Packers’ wild card round bye. The Jaguars have put in interview requests with 10 head coaching candidates for their opening.

The Packers’ offensive coaching staff seems like a collaborative group based on how the team self-describes itself. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has noted the different situations where each coach on the staff has more input than others. Hackett’s area of expertise in Green Bay is their red zone (they call it “gold zone”) offense.