The Denver Broncos believe Russell Wilson is fixable as they head into an offseason looking to pick up the pieces from a debacle of a 2022 season.
Denver fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday after under a year at the helm of a team many expected to contend this campaign.
The Broncos' 51-14 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Day sealed Hackett's fate, the loss dropping Denver to 4-11 on the season.
Wilson was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason, the Broncos parting with two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant to land his services.
But the nine-time Pro Bowler has endured the worst season of his career, completing 60.1 per cent of his passes for 3,019 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Wilson's well-thrown rate of 78.8 per cent is below the NFL average of 81.1 per cent and, heading into last weekend's games, he ranked 25th (for QBs with a minimum of 100 plays in expected passing situations) in yards over expected on downs where the defense would be anticipating a pass, according to Stats Perform data.
His level of performance after being handed a five-year, $245million extension by Denver arguably makes the Broncos job an unappealing one for potential Hackett successors, with the dead cap hits that would come with parting with Wilson meaning they are likely committed to keeping him until at least end of the 2024 season.
But general manager George Paton remains confident Wilson can be salvaged and return to the form that made him such a prized asset.
"We saw flashes of Russ this year. Russ even said he didn't play up to his standard," Paton said at a press conference.
"He will be the first one to tell you he didn't play up to his standard, didn't play up to our standard. He needs to be better.
"I don't think we made a coaching move based on Russ. That wasn't what it's all about.
"That's not why we're getting a new coach, to turn around Russ; it's about the entire organisation. It's about the entire football team.
"It's just not one player. It's not whether Russ is fixable or not. We do believe he is. We do."
Broncos owner and CEO George Penner, who revealed the new head coach would report into him rather than Paton, echoed the general manager's apparent lack of panic surrounding Wilson.
"The decision to have Russell here was a long-term one," Penner said. "This season has not been up to his standards or expectations. We saw some glimpses of it in the last few weeks.
"He knows he can play better, we know he can play better, and we know he will do the right work in the offseason to be ready for next year.
"George and I have had a chance to get to know each other – we talk every day since we purchased the team a number of months ago – and he acknowledged right up front there were a couple of decisions that hadn't worked out as he had expected.
"But I understand his thought process. He understands the work that needs to be done in this offseason, and I'm going to rely on him heavily as we go through and make these changes."