Denver Broncos co-owner and CEO Greg Penner addressed the media on Tuesday and not only discussed the decision to fire head coach Nathaniel Hackett after just 15 games, but also addressed the team’s fans regarding the dreadful season his team has produced.
The Broncos fired Hackett on Monday following an ugly 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in a game that Penner called “an embarrassment to the organization.”
Penner also opened his statement by saying he wanted to personally apologize to Broncos fans, adding “when we purchased this great franchise in August, this was not the season we were expecting.
Despite all of that, and even though he called Sunday’s game an embarrassment, Penner went on to explain that the decision to fire Hackett was not just about that one particular game.
“You have to look at the full body of work. It wasn’t a decision just based off Sunday. It was about the full body of work, and for a number of reasons it just wasn’t the right fit.”
When discussing what he is looking for in his next head coach Penner seemed to be hinting at what some of those reasons might have been, consistently talking about “accountability” and developing an identity on offense.
Accountability seemed to be getting progressively worse throughout the season as there were several incidents between players on the field and sidelines. Things really boiled over on Sunday when TV cameras caught an altercation between offensive linemen and the team’s quarterbacks, while defensive lineman Randy Gregory earned a suspension for a post-game fight.
From the very beginning of the year Hackett seemed to be in way over his head as a head coach, consistently flubbing what should have been routine in-game decisions and timeout usage. Making matters worse, the team’s big offseason addition — quarterback Russell Wilson — has played the worst football of his career. The result has been one of the league’s worst offenses.
Even though they played terribly on Sunday, the Broncos do still have a strong defense that could result in a quick turnaround if they can fix the offense. But that is going to be easier said than done given team’s investment in Wilson, how quickly his career seems to have declined and the fact they do not own a draft pick until the third round thanks to the Wilson trade.
If this is the only level Wilson is capable of playing at, a head coaching change may not fix much, even if the change was needed.
