Nathaniel Hackett says “just don’t listen” to his critics across the country

Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett is the talk of the NFL world.

Both locally and nationally, people have questioned and then questioned again his decision making in the final minute against the Seattle Seahawks. Denver lost a heartbreaker, 17-16.

For Hackett, he says people are entitled to their opinions. But he’s not going to listen to all of the noise, even though it’s been a loud and intense 2.5 days.

“That happens all the time. That’s part of the job. It’s what brings with it. You know, I embrace it. And everybody’s allowed to do that. You just don’t listen. You keep working and you keep grinding. I mean that’s pretty much what we’ve been doing, especially on a short week,” Hackett said.

That short week brings the Houston Texans to town on Sunday afternoon, with the Broncos huge favorites to win and get back to .500 on the season. Some oddsmakers have Denver as nearly a 10-point favorite. And while Hackett is blocking out all the chatter, he does acknowledge what happened in Seattle can be a learning experience for him and the team.

“Whenever you get into big games, at all, this is a great preparation for our guys. There’s always going to be adversity. The season’s a roller coaster. There’s ups, there’s downs and it’s how you respond to everything. It’s how you respond to if you do good, if all of the sudden everybody think it’s great. There’s so many things you can get better on. I think it’s about staying right in the middle of those two things and just growing as a team,” Hackett said.

It’s the right approach from Denver’s rookie head coach. Listening to Stephen A. Smith yell isn’t going to help the Broncos get better. Grinding in meeting rooms, watching tape and fixing some costly errors will ultimately lead to better results.

Denver definitely needs one against the Texans, and so does Hackett. A crisp, solid win will help the attention die down. And for the Broncos right now, that would be a good thing.

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