Why Nathaniel Hackett’s personality may be his…

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In his first hours on the job, new Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett has already met the expectations General Manager George Paton set.

“He walks in a room, he lights it up,” Paton said in an opening statement to the media, and minutes later, everyone in the Broncos’ team meeting room could understand why.

Over the next hour, Hackett spoke about the normal topics — football philosophy, his vision regarding the quarterback position, his background in the game — and at times went well beyond them. He spoke of which “Star Wars” character he most identifies with (Han Solo, for the record), his time learning neurobiology at UC-Davis and his practical jokes in those neurobiology classes, all with the same kind of exuberance that is core to who he is and why he was so sought-after as a head-coaching candidate.

“His enthusiasm is infectious,” Paton said. “His knowledge of the game is really remarkable. He’s going to bring a lot of juice, he’s going to bring a lot of energy to our building. We did a lot of background on all the candidates and the word that kind of resonated other than his football acumen was ‘connection.’ Nathaniel has a unique ability to connect with everyone he touches.”

As the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala wrote in an October profile, Hackett is a “Renaissance man” unlike most people in the NFL coaching world. Because that allows him an ability to make inroads with so many people, Hackett is able to open up communication easily up and down an NFL roster.

“He’s a unique competitor who’s all about winning, but he’s different than any coach I’ve really been around,” Paton said. “He has a lot of other interests, he’s all about family. Any communication you have with Nathaniel, it’s about his family. It was very refreshing. He’s about cultivating relationships. He’s big into the arts, helping others, volunteering in the community, which is why I think he connects with so many different types of people.”

And then there’s the positive energy he brings, which, he said during his initial interview with Paton and the Broncos’ search committee, will be a constant.

“Energy is something you’re always going to find from me as a leader,” Hackett said. “Always going to have energy, always going to bring the juice — just simply because I love it. I love what I do for a living, and it’s a lot of fun if you let it be fun.”