In the long and storied history of NFL head coaches, few men have done their job as poorly and been so bad in such a short period of time as Nathaniel Hackett was in his 1-season stint with the Denver Broncos in 2022.
Hackett, currently in his 1st season as offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals, didn’t even last a full season in Denver, going 4-11 before he was fired with 2 games remaining in the regular season.
Just 4 years later, the Broncos are Super Bowl contenders for the 2nd season in a row, and Hackett finds himself bouncing around the NFL like a ping-pong ball from job to job.
The world got a glimpse into Hackett’s particular brand of coaching prowess this week when he was asked about rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft — just the 6th running back in the last 20 years taken in the Top 5 picks.
When asked who the Cardinals‘ starter might be at running back, Hackett refused to mention Love initially.
“I’m really excited about (the running backs),” Hackett said on Saturday. “Excited for James (Conner) to get out there and show what he’s got. I mean, all the guys.”
When pressed about what role Love might have in the offense, Hackett doubled down.
“I mean, he’s definitely a rookie and as we’ve talked about, and he’ll keep growing every single day,” Hackett said. “I’m very excited for him.”
Nathaniel Hackett Roasted Over Love Comments
Few coaches can stir up the kind of vitriol and mockery Hackett seems to when he ends up in the public eye.
“I absolutely HATE comments like this … one of my pet peeves. .. and you wonder how Nathaniel Hackett even has a job at this high a level now, right?” NFL reporter John Frascella wrote on his official X account. ” … why START by putting down your star rookie to the media?”
“I was low on the Cards and I didn’t even know Hackett was the OC,” Golf Reports wrote on its official X account. “Run so hard away. The only time he hasn’t been laughably bad was when Rodgers was calling the whole offense in the huddle.”
Downhill Slide Following Time in Denver
Following the only head coaching opportunity in his 20-plus-year career, things continued to go downhill for Hackett — including having his playcalling duties stripped from him as offensive coordinator of the New York Jets just 5 games into the 2024 regular season and just 2 days after head coach Robert Saleh was fired.
Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich handed playcalling duties to passing game coordinator Todd Downing, who was fired as offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans after they finished 30th in the NFL in total offense in 2022.
“This is more a byproduct of a different take on things,” Ulbrich told ESPN’s Rich Cimini in October 2025. “I’m not saying it’s a better or worse take on things by any means, but just a different take on things, a fresh approach.”
Hackett’s tenure with the Broncos was beset by problems from the start, and mostly centered around game and clock management that became such an issue that Denver had to bring in a special assistant coach to help manage that aspect of the game.
Hackett also turned over play-calling duties to quarterbacks coach and current Las Vegas Raiders Klint Kubiak midway through the season.
According to Pro Football Network, Hackett is one of 33 NFL head coaches that’s happened to since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 — so it’s not as rare as one might think.
What is rare? Getting fired before the end of your first season. That doesn’t come along very often.
According to CBS Sports, Hackett was just the fifth coach since the AFL-NFL merger to get the axe in that manner and the second in 2 seasons following Urban Meyer with the Jaguars in 2021.
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