Denver Broncos first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett has been well-received by the team’s players, presumably in large part because he’s a fun-loving, energetic coach.
Hackett is serious when he needs to be — he’s still the coach — but he has brought a more relaxed atmosphere to Denver than players experienced under the previous coaching staff led by Vic Fangio.
Hackett is also more fun-loving than some free agent additions experienced at their former teams, such as defensive lineman D.J. Jones.
Jones wasn’t trying to throw San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan under the bus, but he did note that Hackett has “a sense of enjoyment” that Jones didn’t feel at his last team.
“He’s a different coach, especially where I came from,” Jones said Tuesday. “I’m not bashing them at all, but it was to the book. We didn’t — there wasn’t any shooting [basketballs] going on during team meetings or things like that. He brings a sense of enjoyment.
“The first thing that came out of his mouth was ‘family.’ He’s very family oriented. [Our] families come out to practice and come onto the field. I love it so far and I love him.”
It’s great to be loved by players off the field, but Broncos fans are primarily concerned about results on the field. Hackett building strong relationships with his players should help team chemistry, though, and that could lead to better on-field results than Denver has had in recent seasons.
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