The Denver Broncos are going through some coaching changes ahead of their Week 17 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
First and foremost, the Broncos relieved Nathaniel Hackett of his duties after just 15 games as head coach of the team. He finished his tenure in Denver with just a 4-11 record with no wins against any teams in the AFC West division. The Broncos ownership group initially offered the interim head-coaching job to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero according to an NFL Network report, but he declined.
The team would later officially name senior assistant coach Jerry Rosburg as the team’s interim head coach. Hackett hired Rosburg during the 2022 NFL season to aid him in clock management after some clear gaffes early in the season.
Rosburg is a coach that several members of the Chiefs’ staff have familiarity with. Both Steve Spagnuolo and Joe Cullen spent time with him on the Baltimore Ravens’ staff, where he served as special teams coordinator from 2008-2018.
That’s not the only big change for Denver this week, though. In addition to Hackett’s firing, the Broncos also dismissed special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes and offensive line coach Butch Barry according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Assistant special teams coach Mike Mallory will take over for Stukes and assistant offensive line coach Ben Steele will coach the offensive line. Mallory previously served as special teams coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2013-2016. Steele, a former tight end, has only been coaching the offensive line position group for the past two seasons.
There could even be some more changes for the Broncos’ coaching staff on the way ahead of the first practice of the week on Wednesday. Whether those changes will make much of a difference in the final two games of the regular season remains to be seen.
