The #Falcons are doing a virtual interview with #Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett today, per me and @PSchrags. A big part of GB’s offensive machine, this is Hackett’s first HC interview this cycle.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 7, 2021
A top assistant coach for the Green Bay Packers’ record-setting offense is getting some head-coaching interest.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett has a virtual interview with the Atlanta Falcons for their head-coach opening.
Hackett, who was hired by Matt LaFleur to be his offensive coordinator in Green Bay in 2019, has helped build the Packers into the NFL’s top-scoring team in 2020.
On Wednesday, Hackett said he was “definitely ready” for a head-coaching opportunity.
Although he doesn’t call plays, Hackett has been a primary builder of the offense’s red-zone plan. The Packers scored touchdowns on 80.0 percent of red-zone trips in 2020, good for first in the NFL and the highest-percentage overall in the NFL in at least 40 years.
The Packers have won 26 games in two years since LaFleur and Hackett took over the offense in 2019. The scheme, based in concepts built by Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, has become more and more popular around the NFL. In Green Bay, the new scheme has turned Aaron Rodgers into the leading MVP candidate in just two years.
Hackett, 41, has never been a head coach. He does have seven years of experience as an offensive coordinator at the NFL level. His father, Paul Hackett, was a coach in college and the NFL for 40 years.
