Two months earlier, he was an offensive coordinator for a 3-1 team that had Super Bowl aspirations after reaching the AFC Championship Game the previous season. He was the recipient of league-wide praise for his play-calling, innovative scheme design and willingness to adjust his plan to the strength of his personnel.
Everything was going right for Jacksonville Jaguars assistant Nathaniel Hackett. The team was winning. The quarterback was playing well. The running game was primed to be one of the league’s best.
With a second consecutive quality season, Hackett would have been on the 2019 head-coaching radar, the culmination of a journey that started 16 years earlier.