Rumors are raging that Denver Broncos GM George Paton has narrowed down his head-coaching search to three finalists. As the Green Bay Packers exited the postseason party over the weekend, Paton was afforded the luxury of hastily organizing a visit with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who arrived in Denver for a second interview on Monday.
In the bigger picture, Hackett’s sudden availability could change the course of the entire Broncos organization but for most fans, the Packers' playoff elimination has more importance because of how quarterback Aaron Rodgers reacted to his team's abrupt end to the season. All the whispers and murmuring about Rodgers' future have predictably gone viral in the blink of an eye, and the veteran signal-caller’s post-game comments following Green Bay's loss to San Francisco managed to sound much like a fond farewell.
“I’m still super competitive, still know I can play at a high level, so it’s going to be a tough decision,” Rodgers told reporters post-game. “I have lots of things to weigh up in the coming weeks. But man, just so much gratitude for this city and this organization and such a long, long career here that I’m proud of and really thankful for all the men and women that work here, the men I’ve gotten to cross paths with, coaches and players over the years.”
Salary cap issues will come to dominate much of what the Packers can, or can’t do with Rodgers moving forward, and relying on the team's long-time quarterback digging them out of $40 million-plus of cap purgatory seems highly unlikely. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has purportedly seen at least some of his frosty relations with Rodgers thaw, but the QB still laid bare the extent of offseason talks that will be incoming.
“There’s a lot of players whose futures are up in the air,” Rodgers said bluntly. “So definitely [it] will be interesting to see which way some of those decisions will go.”
Rodgers even sounded like a man who might choose to walk away if things don't sort themselves out to his personal satisfaction. But if he is looking for a team that is in need of a QB, the Broncos are a glaringly-obvious match and a destination where he could win now.
Rodgers' frustrations were self-evident when he admitted the Packers could now be in a full rebuild mode and that’s a process he made clear he's not interested in participating in.
“I don’t want to be part of a rebuild if I’m going to keep on playing, so a lot of decisions in the next couple of months,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers set his own timeline for March 16 when the NFL's free agency period begins and that firmly places the Broncos on the clock to get a bead on his intentions before they make what will ultimately be a hotly anticipated front-office power play.
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