Nathaniel Hackett Set To Join Miami Dolphins’ Coaching Staff As Quarterbacks Coach
Just when you thought the coaching carousel had finally stopped spinning for the winter, Nathaniel Hackett found a way to hop back on.
If you’ve been following the NFL for the last five years, you know the name. You know the rollercoaster. And you probably have an opinion. But put the pitchforks down for a second, because the Miami Dolphins just hired Hackett as their new quarterbacks coach.
According to reports from ESPN and confirmed by league sources, Hackett is heading to South Beach to join the staff of new Head Coach Jeff Hafley. He’s stepping in to replace Darrell Bevell, marking a significant shift in the offensive brain trust down in Miami.
The Nine Lives Of Nathaniel Hackett
Hackett is the ultimate survivor of the NFL coaching ecosystem. His resume reads like a heart rate monitor during a frantic two-minute drill. We saw the high highs in Green Bay, where he served as offensive coordinator during three straight 13-win seasons. That success, largely tethered to the right arm of Aaron Rodgers, launched him into the head coaching stratosphere.
Then came the lows. And they were pretty low. His tenure as the Broncos‘ head coach in 2022 was, to put it politely, brief. A 4-11 record and a firing before his first season wrapped up left a mark. He bounced back immediately as the Jets’ offensive coordinator, reuniting with Rodgers, but we all know how that movie ended. Rodgers went down four plays into the season, the offense sputtered to 31st in total yards, and Hackett was eventually stripped of play-calling duties.
Most coaches would take a sabbatical after that one-two punch. Not Hackett. He spent last season quietly working as a defensive analyst for the Packers. It is a humble grind, but it kept him in the building, and more importantly, it kept him connected.
The Green Bay Connection Runs Deep
In the NFL, it’s rarely about what you know; it’s about who you grabbed lunch with three years ago. This hire isn’t random. It’s the classic football network in action. Hackett and Hafley crossed paths in Green Bay last season when Hafley was the defensive coordinator. Clearly, despite the noise surrounding his time in New York and Denver, Hafley saw something he liked.
There’s also a tie to the front office. Hackett has a history with new Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan from their shared time with the Packers. In a league where trust is the most valuable currency, Hackett is a known commodity to the guys running the show in Miami.
A Quarterback Room In Flux
So, what is Hackett actually walking into? He isn’t being asked to lead a franchise or call plays on 4th-and-1 with the game on the line. He’s being asked to coach quarterbacks. And frankly, this is where he has done his best work. Remember, before the Rodgers MVP years, Hackett was the OC in Jacksonville when Blake Bortles and the Jaguars were minutes away from a Super Bowl appearance. He knows how to get production out of imperfect situations.
And Miami is definitely an imperfect situation right now. The Tua Tagovailoa era seems to be hitting the brakes. After being benched for rookie Quinn Ewers late last season, Tagovailoa’s future is murky at best. Hackett will likely be tasked with molding Ewers, a talented kid entering his second year who needs a steady hand. If Tagovailoa is gone, and with Zach Wilson hitting free agency, this is a total rebuild of the QB room.
Working under Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik, Hackett gets to strip away the pressure and just teach.
Can Hackett Find Redemption In South Beach?
There’s a human element here that gets lost in the win-loss columns. Hackett has taken a beating in the court of public opinion. He’s been the punchline of jokes on late-night TV and sports talk radio.
But football is a game of second, third, and fourth chances. By taking a position coach role, Hackett is hitting the reset button. He’s going back to his roots, back to the whiteboard, and back to the fundamentals.
