The list of reported Denver Broncos head coach interview requests has reached nine. Two of the nine are from the same offensive coaching staff: Nathaniel Hackett and Luke Getsy — who are the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator, respectively.
Broncos request interviews with Nathaniel Hackett, Luke Getsy
One of those two names — Hackett, the Packers’ offensive coordinator — was expected. The other was not.
Getsy is a relative unknown outside of Green Bay. He’s spent seven of the last eight seasons on the Packers’ offensive staff, starting as a quality control coach in 2014. He’s since coached the Packers’ quarterbacks, and for the last two seasons, has been Green Bay’s passing game coordinator.
Getsy, 37, does have experience calling plays. He’s been the OC at West Virginia Wesleyan, Indiana (PA), and Mississippi State.
So simply being considered for one of the 32 NFL head coaching jobs is a quantum leap forward in terms of prestige. As for actually getting one of those 32 jobs? That’s probably at least a year or two off.
A theory on the Denver Broncos’ thinking
So why would the Broncos line up an interview with Getsy, when there are a bunch of other candidates with better résumés? Because a coaching search affords teams the ability to do a ton of research they otherwise could not with people who would normally be off-limits.
Take, for instance, the interview request the Broncos put in for Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Perhaps the Broncos have genuine interest in Bieniemy. Or perhaps, they’re using their opening as a way to gather intel on a division rival — which has built perhaps the best organization in all of football.
Now, there’s probably no subterfuge when it comes to Hackett and Getsy. The Broncos and Packers don’t play again until 2023.
But there is a theory that makes sense of the Broncos’ double-dipping into the Green Bay staff.
Is Hackett already assembling a staff?
We believe the Broncos have a real interest in Hackett potentially becoming their next head coach.
Hackett has previously served as the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Syracuse University.
Could the pursuit of Nathaniel Hackett entice A-A-Ron to Denver?
We believe the Broncos also would absolutely love to lure Aaron Rodgers out of the Frozen Tundra and into Mile High.
And while we don’t know this for certain, it makes a ton of sense that part of the plan to get Rodgers in Denver is by hiring people who would make him more open to going there. And that could mean Hackett as head coach and Getsy as offensive coordinator. Rodgers, in an excellent Washington Post story on Hackett from October, made clear his fondness for Hackett.
“It’s understanding that every player has different motivators and everybody can respond differently to coaching, and figuring out what those buttons are on certain people to push to get the most out of them,” Rodgers said. “That’s what he does really well. He disarms guys and makes them feel really comfortable, and then he’s really good at teaching the game.
“I would hate to lose him, but I do feel like he would be a fantastic head coach.”