Nathaniel Hackett’s coaching staff is starting to come together, as more and more vacancies are getting filled by the day it seems like.
The lastest opening to be filled was the running backs coach job, which was vacated by the highly regarded Curtis Modkins following Hackett’s hire, as he accepted a job to be Minnesota’s running backs coach.
Replacing Modkins on the coaching staff is going to be a difficult task, and to accomplish that feat, Nathaniel Hackett is targetting a familiar face, Tyrone Wheatley.
Wheatley will have the pleasure of working with star running back Javonte Williams, but that’s also a lofty responsibility. Williams is a key player on Denver’s offense, yet he’s a poor fit for Hackett’s scheme and will have to develop some facets of his game, and overseeing that transition will be the job of Wheatley.
Tyrone Wheatley worked under Nathaniel Hackett as a running backs coach during Hackett’s offensive coordinator tenure in both Buffalo and Jacksonville and has a combined 10 years of experience in coaching running backs.
Following the tandem’s stint in Jacksonville, Hackett went north to Green Bay, and Wheatley went to Morgan State to be their head coach. Wheatley’s record of 5-18 through two seasons is pretty dismal and might have helped motivate him to make his return to the league.
Before he got into coaching, Wheatley was a star running back for the Michigan Wolverines, who won Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year (1992), was a three-time All-Big Ten selection, and eventually was a first-round draft pick courtesy of the New York Giants. Wheatley also spent time with the Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders.
Wheatley’s familiarity with Nathaniel Hackett and other members of the staff will be an asset he brings to the staff, as is the fact he just spent three years as a head coach of a football program. With such a young and inexperienced staff, having someone with that CEO background could be huge.
