Broncos fire Hackett day after drubbing by Rams
The Denver Broncos fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday with two games left in the season.
Team owner and CEO Greg Penner said he’ll lead the search for a new coach with assistance from GM George Paton, in whom he expressed confidence while announcing Hackett’s dismissal.
Firing Hackett with two games left in a lost season allows Penner to begin his search for a replacement immediately.
Players were told during a team meeting Monday that senior assistant coach Jerry Rosburg, who was hired by Hackett in September to help him with game operations and clock management, will serve as interim head coach.
The Broncos scheduled a news conference for today to discuss the changes.
The group involving Walmart heir Rob Walton, his daughter, Carrie Walton
Penner, and her husband, Greg Penner, purchased the Broncos for $4.65 billion last summer, a global record for a professional sports franchise, and Rob Walton said after the league’s approval that he aimed to make the Broncos perennial championship contenders again.
On Sunday, the Broncos (4-11) were blown out by the equally downtrodden Rams 51-14 when Russell Wilson threw three interceptions and was sacked six times. The game featured a sideline spat between backup QB Brett Rypien and guard Dalton Risner, and pass rusher Randy Gregory threw a punch at a Rams player after the game.
In a statement Monday, Penner thanked Hackett for his dedication but said that “following extensive conversations with George and our ownership group, we determined a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos. This change was made now out of respect for everyone involved and allows us to immediately begin the search for a new head coach.”
Tagovailoa returns to concussion protocol
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has returned to the NFL’s concussion protocol, Miami coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
Tagovailoa met with doctors a day after the Dolphins’ 26-20 loss to Green Bay and was experiencing concussion symptoms.
Teddy Bridgewater is expected to get most of the first-team reps in practice this week, but McDaniel said it is too early to name a starter for Miami’s game at New England on Sunday.
It is the second time this season that Tagovailoa has been in the concussion protocol. He took a scary hit that knocked him unconscious during Miami’s Week 4 game at Cincinnati. He was stretchered off the field and returned in Week 7.
Tagovailoa took another hard hit four days before the Cincinnati game during a win over Buffalo. He appeared to show concussion symptoms but was evaluated and stayed in the game. The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that any player who shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — sit out the remainder of a game.
The injury comes at a challenging time for Miami (8-7), which has lost four straight to fall to the bottom of the AFC playoff field.
Eagles QB Hurts will play, if he's ready
The No. 1 seed in the NFC is still on the table for the Eagles. So is starting bangedup quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts missed Philadelphia’s loss to Dallas because of a sprained right shoulder — a defeat that denied the Eagles the NFC East championship and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Had the Eagles clinched those top spots, the need to have Hurts play again this season would have been erased.
Yet, even at 13-2, the Eagles need their star QB to try to win one of the final two games to earn the No. 1 seed that would give them a bye and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.
Gardner Minshew was serviceable against the Cowboys. But against a Saints (69) team still clinging to postseason hopes, the Eagles will turn to Hurts if he’s deemed healthy (enough) to play.
“If Jalen’s ready to go, Jalen will play,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “He’s our starting quarterback. If he’s ready to go, then he’ll go. That’s nothing against Gardner because I thought he played a really good game. But if Jalen’s ready, he’ll go.”