ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The need to repair one of the league's most consistently clunky offenses was finally so big, so unavoidable, the NFL's most patient coaching search abruptly turned into the offseason's first hire. Sometime late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning the Denver Broncos agreed to a deal with Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to be the team's next head coach.
Broncos general manager George Paton talked to the most verified candidates of any team on the hunt for a new head coach in the first round of interviews -- 10 -- and then scrapped his second interview schedule when the Broncos finalized a deal with Hackett.