If the Broncos fall to 0-4, it’s time to move on from John Elway
Sep 26, 2019, 6:33 AM | Updated: 8:49 am
Since Super Bowl 50, the Broncos have posted a 20-31 record. That’s the second-worst record for a championship-winning team in their next 51 games during the era of the 16-game schedule.
John Elway is the most-beloved athlete in the state of Colorado, bringing three Super Bowl championships to the state. But now, it might be time to say goodbye to “The Duke.”
In his first six seasons being in charge of the Broncos, Elway never had a losing season. Since then, No. 7 is looking at his third-straight losing season as the team’s general manager.
Elway was considered one of the best GMs in all of football after signing Peyton Manning and a number of top-notch free agents leading up to 2015. Since then, he has struggled to land the top free agents on the open market, signing the likes of offensive linemen like Donald Stephenson, Menelik Watson and even Ron Leary.
When looking for the most important position on the field, Elway has rolled with a seventh-round draft pick in Trevor Siemian, drafted first-round bust Paxton Lynch, brought Brock Osweiler back after he left for greener pastures, signed free agent Case Keenum and now traded for Joe Flacco. The Broncos GM has yet to find a quarterback to play at a level to get this franchise back into the playoffs.
Along the way, most of Elway’s drafts has been horrific. Since his first draft in 2011, Elway has only selected a total of two players to make the Pro Bowl – Von Miller and Julius Thomas. To make the point clearer, Elway has picked 63 players before this draft class and only two have made the Pro Bowl. That’s 3 percent of his draft picks!
In the meantime, Elway decided to let one of if not the smartest defensive minds in the league, Wade Phillips, walk away to the Rams because he refused to make Phillips the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the NFL. Phillips then helped lead the Rams to the Super Bowl last season.
After head coach Gary Kubiak stepped down, Elway went out and hired first-time head coach Vance Joseph. Joseph was a raw coach because he only had one year of experience as a defensive coordinator during the previous season with the Dolphins. Denver would then promote secondary coach Joe Woods to be the defensive coordinator that would replace Phillips.
Under Joseph and Woods, the Broncos went 11-21. The pair only lasted two seasons with Denver.
It wouldn’t make sense to hire another first-time head coach again, would it?
But Elway did it again. Denver hired Vic Fangio and once again a first-time play caller, but this time on offense with Rich Scangarello.
Fangio is one of the smartest defensive minds in NFL history, but it hasn’t shown this season. His defense has yet to force a turnover and better yet even record a sack. Despite having star players like Von Miller, Bradley Chubb and Chris Harris Jr., Denver’s defense is struggling.
On offense, the Broncos are showing no creativity under Scagnarello. Denver is averaging 15.3 points per game this season, even with Flacco at the helm. That makes them the third-worst offense in the NFL so far this season.
With the Broncos off to an 0-3 start this season and the future not looking good for this franchise, the organization needs to realize that it’s time to rebuild so that they can be competitive for years to come.
If the Broncos fall to the Jaguars on Sunday, it’s time for Broncos President and CEO Joe Ellis to let Elway know that the Broncos are going to go in a different direction. The current plan simply isn’t working.
Hate to say the words, but if that happens, it’s time to move on from John Elway as a Broncos executive.
