The Denver Broncos have hired Jerry Rosburg as senior assistant, and will be tasked with advising head coach Nathaniel Hackett on game-management operations, per 9NEWS in Denver. The addition of Rosburg comes after criticism over how Hackett has coached in his first two games this season.
The hiring was official late Friday after Rosburg spent time with the team in practice. His first game with Denver will come on Sunday night when the Broncos face the San Francisco 49ers. Rosburg will sit in the booth and communicate directly with Hackett during games.
Rosburg, 66, is a well-respected assistant coach and a long-time special teams coordinator. He started in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns from 2001 to 2006, then with the Falcons in 2007 and the Ravens from 2008 to 2018. He was Baltimore’s associate head coach and helped the team reach great success, including winning the Super Bowl in 2013.
This is Hackett’s first year as a head coach and he has yet to impress through two games.
Hackett has made several questionable in-game decisions, including choosing to kick a game-winning 64-yard field goal rather than go for it on 4th-and-5 — a decision that was shocking given the Broncos now have Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson and the field goal would’ve tied for the longest in NFL history.
The offense has looked lackluster and ill-prepared as Wilson, who was supposed to be the Broncos’ answer to success, has yet to wow.
The questionable choices paired with a coaching staff without much experience has caused worry over the team in Denver. Rosburg will bring the veteran experience the coaching staff needs right now.
The Broncos lost to Wilson’s old team, the Seattle Seahawks, in Week 1, but defeated the Houston Texans last week. Still, even their win was not much to write home about as they defeated one of the bottom-tier teams in the league by just seven points.
