Denver Broncos to hire Nathaniel Hackett as head coach, sources say

The Denver Broncos are hiring Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to be their head coach, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.

Hackett, who has worked with quarterbacks at all phases on the developmental curve, was scheduled to interview with the Jaguars on Thursday, but the Broncos stepped in Wednesday night to get a deal done to prevent him from going to Jacksonville, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

It will mark Hackett's first stint as a head coach, and he becomes Denver's fourth different coach since the start of the 2016 season. He replaces Vic Fangio, who was fired earlier this month after going 7-10 this past season — the Broncos' fifth consecutive losing season.

NFL Network first reported the news of Denver's plans to hire Hackett.

Of all the offensive assistants interviewed by the Broncos, Hackett had the deepest résumé as a former playcaller for both Buffalo and Jacksonville before his time with the Packers.

During interviews with Denver, he was asked to detail how he would transition to running an entire team and how he'd construct a defensive staff. Hackett also had to answer how he would keep his game day organized if, as a first-time head coach, he was going to continue to call plays.

The Broncos feature a young roster, with about $50 million worth of salary-cap space projected, according to general manager George Paton, and 11 picks already in hand for April's NFL draft.

Hackett, 42, was the Jaguars' quarterbacks coach from 2015 to 2016 and offensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018 before getting fired in the middle of the 2018 season. The Jaguars reached the AFC Championship Game in the 2017 season.

When his father, Paul, was on Marty Schottenheimer's Kansas City Chiefs staff,