Hackett says his new senior assistant coach made the game run smoother

The Broncos made news on Saturday when a new hire leaked out.

The team knew through the first two games head coach Nathaniel Hackett needed help with game management and decision making. So they brought in Jerry Rosburg and named him a senior assistant. Essentially, Rosburg sits in the booth and tells Hackett what to do in different situations. Rosburg spent 11 seasons working under John Harbaugh as Baltimore’s special-teams coordinator before retiring in the 2019 offseason.

It seems kind of odd, but the hiring was warranted after several gaffes against the Seahawks and Texans. Things seemed to run smoother during Denver’s 11-10 win over San Francisco on Sunday night, so clearly having Rosburg in the fold helped.

Hackett wasn’t the talk of the game and hasn’t been in the 18 hours since it ended. That’s a good sign, because he was leading national sports talk shows after Weeks 1 and 2.

At his press conference on Monday, Hackett was asked about Rosburg’s presence. He confirmed it was nice to have him on a headset, and once again admitted the help is welcomed and warranted.

“Everybody worked well together. We knew that we had something, especially myself, that I had to address. And then being able to get Jerry in there and work with the people that we had. We had a nice group up top that was able to get the information quickly and efficiently to me. (It) made me make a quick decision instead of being emotional if something might have happened that I was frustrated with or excited about. It made me just kind of lock in and hear the information and make the best decision,” Hackett said.

Again, the chatter from the 49ers game is about how good the Denver defense is, how much the offense needs to improve and the thrilling fourth quarter. It’s not about Hackett. And that’s a darn good sign after an exhausting couple of weeks because of his poor decisions.

Rosburg will hopefully continue to work in the shadows while helping Hackett out. So far, so good. Broncos Country would like to see that continue for the rest of the season.

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