HEADLINES

Nalen: ‘Not good enough’ for Broncos to go 8-8 in 2019

May 24, 2019, 1:33 PM | Updated: May 28, 2019, 6:53 am

In 1995, the Denver Broncos finished 8-8 — not bad for a team with a new head coach (Mike Shanahan) that had spent the past three seasons hovering around .500 (8-8 in 1992, 9-7 in 1993 and 7-9 in 1994).

That offseason, former Broncos center Tom Nalen recalls, Denver completely overhauled its roster.

When the Broncos went 13-3 in 1996 but failed to escape the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, Denver overhauled again, said “The Drive” co-host.

“After the 13-3 year, the entire roster was overhauled, until we got to the Super Bowl. That’s what works,” Nalen said Thursday.

So, if the vision for John Elway and the Broncos brass is to quickly turn around the club into a Super Bowl contender once again, “8-8 is not good enough,” Nalen said.

And that, Nalen said, means letting go of Elway, Vic Fangio, Joe Ellis, finding new ownership — whatever it takes to turn things 180 degrees.

“I need a complete ideology shift at that point, I guess,” Nalen said. “We’re looking at a Kingsbury type of coach in here. And we’re going to find a quarterback. If Drew Lock’s not that guy, we’ve got to find a quarterback that fits that coach.”

Headlines

Josh Dobbs...

Andrew Mason

Another QB drops off the market, so, which veteran quarterbacks are left?

Cross another free-agent quarterback off the available list, as Josh Dobbs joined the San Francisco 49ers on Monday.

42 minutes ago

J.J. McCarthy...

Jake Shapiro

New favorite emerges to select J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft

Sean Payton may have found who he wants to be the next QB of the Denver Broncos but will Michigan's J.J. McCarthy still be on the board

6 hours ago

Kirk Cousins Broncos...

Andrew Mason

Report: Broncos ‘touched base’ with agent of Kirk Cousins before he went to Falcons

Kirk Cousins almost certainly wasn't coming to Denver, but the Broncos had interest -- if his price came down in free agency.

6 hours ago

Nikolai Kovalenko...

Jake Shapiro

Blue-chip Avalanche prospect could soon join the team

Nikolai Kovalenko is in Denver, could that mean the Russian forward could soon be joining the Colorado Avalanche

8 hours ago

Courtland Sutton's contract...

Will Petersen

Broncos make move with Courtland Sutton’s contract worth noting

Mike Klis notes that the Broncos picked up Courtland Sutton's full $2 million injury guarantee on his contact for the 2024 season

8 hours ago

Bo Nix at the Senior Bowl...

Andrew Mason

Does Bo Nix have some Drew Brees in him?

And if he does, might he be the best fit and most viable target for Broncos coach Sean Payton on his quarterback hunt?

11 hours ago

Nalen: ‘Not good enough’ for Broncos to go 8-8 in 2019