Nathaniel Hackett reveals he’s meeting with Broncos owners on weekly basis
Dec 2, 2022, 1:42 PM
The top Broncos bosses were at practice on Friday.
Multiple media members spotted Broncos CEO Greg Penner and his wife, Carrie Walton-Penner, observing as Denver gets ready to head to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Sunday. It’s not rare for NFL owners to be near the team, but given the 3-8 Broncos are a mess, there presence was noteworthy.
And the guys most likely to pay the price for Denver’s disastrous season is head coach Nathaniel Hackett. The Broncos have a historically bad offense, and Hackett even gave up play-calling duties to try to spark the team. So far, none of it has worked.
After practice on Friday, Hackett was asked about his relationship with the Penners. They didn’t hire him, but they could certainly be the ones to fire him. Hackett revealed he talks to them often.
“I meet with them quite a bit, actually, (and) I see Greg and Carrie around a lot. I text with them a lot and have meetings with them weekly and just kind of talk about everything,” Hackett said.
That’s interesting. The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group (WPFOG) had almost no football experience before buying the Broncos in August. But they have a ton of business experience, as Robson Walton is one of the heirs to the massive Walmart fortune. Clearly, Greg and Carrie are trying to learn the game. Which should be encouraging fro Broncos fans that they’re taking this new project seriously.
“It’s great. I mean, they’re very supportive” Hackett said. “They have great questions. We talk about pretty much everything. So I think that for just them being in here, in football for the first time, there’s great discussions on all the different things that happen throughout this profession.”
Now, whether or not Denver fans want the Penners learning the game from Hackett is a different question. But again, it’s nice to hear they’re engaged.
If the Broncos lose to the Ravens on Sunday, we’ll see if they’re engaged enough to make a coaching change.
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