With their disastrous 2022 season winding down, the Denver Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday, a move that many fans had been calling for going back to September.
Hackett was hired prior to the start of the season, and despite having been an offensive coordinator for several years in three different organizations, he had no prior head coaching experience.
That lack of head coaching experience was hard to miss at times this season, as the Broncos rank 26th in total yards and passing touchdowns, 28th in rushing touchdowns and dead last in points scored.
To be fair, Hackett hasn’t been the only culprit for their 4-11 record, but when a team is greatly underperforming, the head coach is usually the first casualty.
Already, rumors are flying about who may ultimately replace Hackett next season, and these two men could have a great chance.
Dan Quinn
Quinn is currently the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, who have been having a somewhat surprisingly successful season with an 11-4 record.
The Cowboys may be third in points scored, but their pass defense has been very strong as well, as they’re ninth in passing yards allowed, fifth in interceptions forced and first in overall turnovers forced.
Of course, it wasn’t too long ago that Quinn led the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl as an elite offensive team, which would make it seem he could at least with Denver’s massive offensive woes.
Sean Payton
This one is more of a dream candidate, but there has been lots of noise about Payton returning to the NFL.
Although he has been linked mostly to the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, there is always a chance that if owner Bob Walton, who is the heir to the Walmart fortune, made the former New Orleans Saints coach an offer he can’t refuse, he may decide to head for the Rocky Mountains and join the Broncos.
But there would be an interesting caveat to hiring Payton, as he wants to bring along Vic Fangio as his defensive coordinator.
REPORT: Sean Payton is putting together a staff that includes Vic Fangio as his defensive coordinator pic.twitter.com/QsanY5XAxf
— Denver Broncos 365 (@DailyBroncos) December 24, 2022
Of course, Fangio is the former Broncos head coach who was fired almost a year ago, and it is unknown whether ownership would even consider bringing him back in any capacity.
