Teams that fire coaches tend to hire replacements who are the exact opposite of the former coach. And the next Broncos coach needs to handle quarterback Russell Wilson in the exact opposite way that Nathaniel Hackett did.
No more special treatment. No more office in the building. No more anything other than being treated like one of the other players on the team.
Or, if anything, the next coach should single out Wilson for criticism, if only to prove a point that there are no sacred cows in Denver.
The Broncos already will be inclined to hire a no-nonsense, take-charge coach who rules with an iron first and tells it like it is, since that’s the opposite of Hackett. And the new coach will have no reason to tiptoe around Wilson.
Really, what has Wilson done to merit special treatment? With one more year to go until the Broncos reasonably can get out from under his bloated deal, there’s nothing to lose by applying tough love to Russell Wilson.
He hasn’t been good enough. He needs someone to tear him down in the hopes he’ll once again build himself up. If he doesn’t, he’ll be gone anyway.
Actually, he’ll likely be slapped in bubble wrap at some point during the 2023 season, if the Broncos decide he’s not the answer for 2024 and beyond — and if the Broncos want to be able to avoid having another $37 million in 2025 compensation from becoming fully and completely guaranteed.
Bottom line? It’s time for the next Broncos coach to abandon the kid-gloves approach to Russ and to start coaching him aggressively and bluntly and, hopefully, successfully.
New Broncos coach will need to end the special treatment of Russell Wilson originally appeared on Pro Football Talk