The chopping block comes out when the losses start to pile up. Nathaniel Hackett’s tenure as Broncos boss was unceremoniously cut short Monday, one day after Denver suffered a 51-14 beatdown by the previously four-win Rams.
Hackett’s 15-game spell is among the shortest in NFL history. The Broncos went 4-11 under his tutelage.
MORE: Why the Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett
But the season isn’t over yet. Denver has two more games to play. And the new leader of the team will be Jerry Rosburg, who was elevated to interim coach.
We’ve named 40-year coaching veteran and Super Bowl XLVII champion Jerry Rosburg as interim head coach.
📰 » https://t.co/sUTraKwbWw pic.twitter.com/QeJx9KH022
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 26, 2022
Here’s what you need to know about Denver’s new head honcho:
Who is Jerry Rosburg?
Rosburg has reached the pinnacle of the football coaching pyramid, completing an odyssey that lasted some 40 years.
The 67-year old starred as a player at North Dakota State in the mid-1970s, but he immediately embarked a coaching career after graduating.
Rosburg got his break in the college game in 1981, when he joined Northern Illinois’ staff as a graduate assistant. A former linebacker, Rosburg later coached the position at Western Michigan and Cincinnati. He developed into an all-around coach with a penchant for leading special teams units.
That specialty brought him to the NFL. The Browns appointed him their special teams coordinator in 2001.
Eventually, Rosburg found a home in Baltimore. He spent 11 seasons with the Ravens and helped them win a Super Bowl in the 2012 season.
In 2018, Rosburg called it quits on his career, only to return to the sideline in 2022 as a senior assistant with the Broncos to help Hackett with clock management.
The addition didn’t make much of a difference. The Broncos’ offense couldn’t develop consistency under Hackett, particularly with quarterback Russell Wilson playing at a low level.
MORE: Ranking the best candidates to replace Nathaniel Hackett
Many observers would have preferred seeing Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who has put together a shutdown unit this year, elevated instead of a 67-year-old rookie. That didn’t happen, though. Instead, it will be Rosburg taking charge as Denver looks to salvage something from a dour 2022.
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