“Is Nathaniel Hackett going to survive?” – Broncos HC could get fired if London game goes awry, claims Mike Florio
The Denver Broncos have had an awful start to the year. They were expected to compete for a playoff spot and contend for a potential Super Bowl, but they sit at 2-5. There are a lot of reasons why they've struggled, and one of them could be the pairing of new head coach Nathaniel Hackett and offseason acquisition Russell Wilson.
NFL analyst Mike Florio is concerned about Hackett's longevity with the team. New coaches often get more time to adjust, but this is a team that was expected to be good and has not even been close to that.
Florio wondered about the team's future ahead of their game in London. Here's what he said on Pro Football Talk:
"They've got these questions with the Broncos about will they trade off Bradley Chubb? Are other players available? You know, they traded away Von Miller last year and they were 4-4. Well, they're 2-5 right now."
He continued, noting that fans in London may not be excited about seeing Hackett, Wilson and the rest of the team:
And hey, I think that the folks in England may be trying to send this next game back for a refund or something… but it will be dripping with some storylines here. One of them is is Nathaniel Hackett going to survive if they lose that game?"
Florio believes the head coach may also be worried about his own future:
"He was a little testy yesterday so you know the Broncos whether it's Rypien or whether it's Wilson they're just not getting it done offensively and they have embarrassed new ownership at a 2-5 record."
Denver is a 3.5 point underdog going into their matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Will the Denver Broncos fire Nathaniel Hackett midseason?
According to Las Vegas, there's a strong chance Hackett will be fired this season, in the middle of his first season ever as a head coach. Hackett is the odds-in favorite to be the next head coach ousted after the Carolina Panthers fired Matt Rhule.
Odds for the Next HC Fired (@betonline_ag):
Nathaniel Hackett (-150)
Kliff Kingsbury (+250)
Frank Reich (+400)
Dan Campbell (+750)
Dennis Allen (14/1)
If the losses continue to pile up, starting with this upcoming game in London, then the odds will only get higher. The team has a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, so a 2-5 record is both surprising and unacceptable. Thus far, the Hackett experiment has not worked out. If it continues to fail, then the Broncos may cut ties and start over.
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