The Denver Post: Nathaniel Hackett, Broncos finalizing deal for head coach job, source says
"The Broncos were the first of the nine teams to fill their head-coaching vacancy....
"Hackett’s career reached a crossroads on Jan. 4, 2010, when he was fired along with several other Buffalo Bills coaches. He had been coaching for seven years but had not reached the level of position coach, much less coordinator, and wondered if it was time to put the playbooks away and start using his neurobiology degree.
Will Aaron Rogers follow?
(For our young alums, his father Paul Hackett is also an Aggie and had an outstanding NFL and college career.)
ESPN: "Hackett's hiring will bring immediate speculation about the Broncos trying to lure Aaron Rodgers to Denver, perhaps along with Packers star receiver Davante Adams, who is set to hit free agency in March."
Hope he fares better as a HC than his father. Paul seemed to be one of those people who did well as an OC, but had problems at the next level. He had a bad run at USC. Fans there have nothing good to say about him, not that USC fans are fickle or have high expectations. ....
I don't recall the particulars. I followed USC football when a family member was going to school there, all in the Pete Carroll era. On one particular fansite Hackett was referred to (keeping in mind that Harry Potter was very popular at the time) as "He Who Shall Not Be Named."
As an Aggie I just bit my tongue.
(Yet there are USC publications which list people associated with the football program who had success in the pros or various halls of fame that list one time USC assistant Ken O'Brien.....)
The use of y’all from a guy who spent much of. his career in Northern California, upstate New York, and Wisconsin was kind of unexpected.
Seems like a good guy, it will be interesting to see how he does.
I was a bit dumbfounded at Mark Johnson getting sacked. You look at his track record and he put together some good game plans against solid teams, but the Aggies lost a lot from '09 to '12, which I think is in part due to recruiting issues, but I'll always remember that 13-10 win @ SJSU in '10, defense absolutely destroyed the Spartans that day. Also held South Dakota State to 12 points on the road in 2012, the Jacks won 9 games that year and lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs to rival NDSU.
"It’s so out-of-the-box, Hackett is even bringing in his old neurobiology classmate from the University of California-Davis, John Vieira, to serve as a coach to the coaches. Vieira held a similar role the previous two years in Green Bay."
There is a ton of brain power headed to Denver, but that team needs a quarterback more than anything. Mahomes, Carr and Herbert are all slinging the rock in that division, and all three could've been playoff teams this year if the Raiders hadn't kicked that field goal to end the regular season.
It has always been a problem in Seattle, ever since Okung left, it's been a merry-go-round of draft picks and misses...which, in part, is kind of due to Wilson's massive contract he landed some years ago, but still. No competency in that front office drafting pass protectors...they're hell at developing wideouts, linebackers, running backs and defensive linemen though.