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Now that Josh McDaniels is gone, it’s time to bring in John Elway. At least that’s how a good number of Denver Broncos fans feel. After all, Elway always seemed to cure what ailed them back in the day. No, they don’t want to bring him in as the coach or general manager — OK, some of them probably do — but more as a vice president of operations or a similar position. They want him to be a part of the process so that he can once again return them to the glory years. Those fans also need to keep a clear head. It’s been more than a decade since Elway pulled that off and to think that order would be restored just by putting his name back within the franchise is pretty silly. That said, if it would make those fans, who I saw wearing bags on their heads a couple weeks ago when I went to Invesco to see them play the Rams, a little happier, why wouldn’t you slap a title on him, pick his brain and include him in some of the processes? At this point, it couldn’t make things any worse. John Elway joined 87.7 the Ticket in Denver with Vic and Gary to discuss recent meetings he’s had with the Denver Broncos’ brass, the firing of Josh McDaniels, in what capacity he’d like to rejoin the Denver Broncos, if he’d like to own part of the team, if he’s ever had the chance to do that, whether he’s listened to the fans’ comments who want him to run the team and if he’d like to join the organization before it hires a new coach.
On his reaction to Josh McDaniels’ firing:
“I was a little bit surprised, but I think obviously they made the move they felt they had to make. I think, in the long run, Josh is going to be a good young, he’s going to be a good football coach. He’s a good football coach now and he’s going to be a good head coach down the line. … It’s unfortunate. You never like to see this happen to anybody or any organization.”
On whether he discussed the possibility of joining the organization:
“Yeah, we talked about it, but not in any kind of depth. And I’ve talked to [chief operating officer] Joe Ellis about it also, but there hasn’t been any kind of depth at this point in time. They’ve had plenty on their [plate] so we’ll sit down at some point in time and have some meetings and see if everything aligns, what they would want out of me, what they expect out of me and what they’re looking for. There’s definitely going to be some conversations. … Obviously I’ve said that I love the Denver Broncos and what they’re about and [owner] Pat Bowlen and what he’s done for me.”
On what capacity he’d like to rejoin the organization:
“Obviously football is what I know the best. I’m not interested in being the head coach and I’m not interested in being the general manager. I don’t have that kind of experience to be able to pick those players day-in and day-out. As we’ve talked about before, that’s kind of an art form. … I’m not interested in doing that, so we’ll sit down and talk about the different interests … and see what we can do.”
On if there’s a chance he would get a piece of the team:
“Not at this stage. I think that they’re looking at trying to figure out and get their organization straight, in a way, at this point in time. But I would never cross that out and say that’s never not a possibility, to be in a group if they’d go that direction at some point in time.”
On whether he’s ever been offered a part in the ownership:
“I had that option and decided at that point in time it wasn’t the right thing for me to do. It wasn’t the right mix. I had the option when I retired, but did not exercise that option.”
On whether he’s paid attention to some Denver fans having a dream of him running the team:
“No, I haven’t got that far down. It’s been more of a ‘What would my role be?’ I’ve got to figure that out first and if there is a role there for me. You really spend more of your time fending off rumors or things that people create. … It’s still in a very preliminary process.”
On whether he wants to get things sorted out and be on board to help select a new coach:
“Depending on what the Broncos are looking for, yeah. If there’s involvement on that football side, then yeah, I would want to have something done before they hire a coach. If it’s not in that role, it doesn’t matter.”
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