Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy once babysat Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett

Mike McCarthy’s relationship with Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett goes a long way. In 1989, when McCarthy was a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh, Nathaniel Hackett was just nine years old. McCarthy was working for Nathaniel’s father, Paul.

McCarthy had numerous tasks working as the GA for Paul Hackett, with one such duty being taking Nathaniel to an amusement park.

“He was scared,” McCarthy joked.

When Paul Hackett left Pitt for the NFL to become an offensive coordinator under Marty Schottenheimer with the Kansas City Chiefs, McCarthy went with him as an assistant coach.

Now Nathaniel is coaching in the NFL. When he sought a team to scrimmage, he called McCarthy, his former babysitter.

”I’ve coached these guys that I admired when I was a little kid,” McCarthy said. “So that was cool. My first preseason game (as coach of the Packers) was against Marty Schottenheimer. And we got thumped big time. He said, ‘Kid, don’t worry. Trust me. It gets better.’ Thanks for your advice, Marty.”

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