Could Nathaniel Hackett lure Aaron Rodgers to Denver?
Yahoo Sports' Liz Loza and Dalton Del Don react to the Broncos hiring Nathaniel Hackett as their next head coach, including whether or not the former Green Bay OC could reunite with Aaron Rodgers in the Mile High City.
Video Transcript
LIZ LOZA: You know, the Bears fans have been used to Nathaniel Hackett being a thorn in their sides because he's been the offensive coordinator of the Packers. But oh, wait, hold up. The Broncos just hired him to be the team's new head coach. They scooped him before his second interview with Jacksonville, and coincidentally he was the OC in Jacksonville from 2016 to 2018. And we all remember how he led the Jags to the AFC title match in 2017.
Of course, none of that matters. Nobody cares about Jacksonville in this equation. Everyone is just wondering, thinking, hoping, predicting that this move makes things all the easier for Aaron Rodgers and maybe Davante Adams-- but let's be honest, Aaron Rodgers to move to Denver.
DALTON DEL DON: It's frustrating living in California. Tougher to get bets down. I'd love some futures on the Broncos next season. It's hardly a secret though. I bet the odds aren't that long because the writing's on the wall for Rodgers possibly going there with a solid defense. And talk about impressive skill position players. So, yeah, the Broncos could immediately become one of the AFC favorites if he does follow his OC there.
Conversely, it could actually end up being a trade, and Jerry Jeudy could go from being super excited to having Rodgers throw to him to end up in Green Bay and having Jordan Love throw to him. So don't be shocked if a trade makes some moving pieces here. But I do expect at this point Rodgers to go to Denver because here's what-- if for no other reason than even Packers fans have moved on. Honestly, most of them are like-- they're basically over Rodgers for not just the off-field stuff, but apparently not coming through in the playoffs lately.
So to me, it seems like for both cases-- even though toward the end of last season, I was more convinced he was gonna return. The way the postseason ended again-- maybe it's just recency bias. But if I had to guess now, I would say Rodgers ends up in Denver. What do you think, Liz?
LIZ LOZA: All right, two things. Number one, I totally understand why that's the prevailing thought. I found this quote, which comes from Wes Hodkiewicz, who is a Packers.com digital reporter. And in November of 2020, obviously in his MVP year, Rodgers said this about Hackett. "There's nobody in the building that brings me more joy or is more fun to be around than Nathaniel Hackett." OK, that's a big tell. Because we know that Aaron Rodgers isn't necessarily full of platitudes if he doesn't feel like it.
But I will say it's interesting that Rodgers-- you know, I know all these guys are super competitors and think that they can beat everyone, but now Rodgers is gonna go from battling Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, and Andy Dalton, I guess, to Mahomes and Herbert twice a season. And so I'm like, OK, bring it. Yes, I would love to see Justin Herbert own Aaron Rodgers at SoFi.
DALTON DEL DON: No, that's tough to do for sure. Yeah, those quarterbacks. But the Broncos still have, like I said, a pretty underrated defense. They suffered some injuries this year. And I will note that as much as I like Patrick Surtain as the next guy, the Broncos needed a quarterback, and they drafted him ahead of Justin Fields.
And I have to think that they had some assurances that Rodgers was maybe possibly coming one year later. Maybe it's just crazy speculation. But you're right, though, it won't be the easiest division that he's been used to. Yeah, at this stage of his career, it'd be wild coming off an MVP and then switching conferences. I mean, it'd be fun--
LIZ LOZA: Also--
DALTON DEL DON: --for the league.
LIZ LOZA: --he's not likeable. Like not even--
DALTON DEL DON: I get it. He's the villain now for sure. I mean, I understand that.
LIZ LOZA: But it's not even this year and the COVID and the toe and the Pat McAfee. I'm not talking about any of that. I'm talking about the Tyler Dunne article. Folks don't like him. His players don't like him. That's why he keeps pulling Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb out of retirement because they're the only ones who are willing to put up with him.
And I just can't imagine-- to me, this is a trap. Because as good as he is, and I'm not denying that, and as much as people want to play with the best, rapport is a thing. We saw OBJ-- very talented-- rapport didn't work out for him. And now he's crushing in Los Angeles because, yes, he has a better quarterback. But also-- and Scott Pianowski made this point, I believe, on Monday's pod-- the team is better able to massage his ego.
How do we know that Rodgers is gonna be able to develop rapport with Tim Patrick-- one of the most underrated outside receivers in the NFL-- and Courtland Sutton, who had a down year this year, and that entire organization immediately. Is he gonna pull a Tom Brady and have these offseason workouts in his backyard and be roommates with everybody? I mean, I don't know. But rapport is a thing, and it might take more than a minute to get settled.