The Broncos need safety John Lynch more than he needs football.
Blessed with a beautiful family, financial security and opportunities to make a difference in the world long after he makes his final tackle, what could be a more perfect ending to his NFL career than for Lynch to say aloha to the sport after the Pro Bowl in Hawaii?
But the Broncos would be lost without him.
At age 36, Lynch has never been more essential to a Denver team whose emerging young stars, from quarterback Jay Cutler to defensive end Elvis Dumervil, still have much to learn about being a leader.
Believe this: In an organization run with uncommon autonomy by coach Mike Shanahan, the second-strongest voice of the Broncos is Lynch.
And there’s no doubt Lynch still burns with intense competitive fire after 15 NFL seasons.
When the Broncos were embarrassed 31-13 by Houston in a late-season loss, I have never seen Lynch angrier during the four seasons he has played in Denver.
What irked Lynch was what had seemed to be a relatively harmless observation during a Denver Post interview by Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist, who suggested that perhaps the team had put too big a leadership burden on a veteran on the back side of his career.
Washed up? Worn out? Any hint of the idea made Lynch seethe.
The anger in his proud eyes did not appear to be the reaction of a football player looking for a rocking chair as a retirement gift.
Maybe that explains why Lynch could be found working out before dawn in Hawaii, while younger Pro Bowlers dozed in paradise.
Jim Bates might still have his job as Denver’s defensive guru if he had only realized a team short on playmakers could ill afford to give the hard-hitting Lynch a supporting role.
One of the main reasons Bates had to junk his distinctive defensive system early in a 7-9 season was to put Lynch in position to restore more pop to a poor tackling unit.
Does that sound like a player the Broncos want to tell goodbye now?
With all due respect to Steve Atwater, Dennis Smith and Billy Thompson, the best safety ever to wear a Broncos uniform is Lynch.
Safety might be the least appreciated job in NFL history. So it only goes to figure that safety is the position with a long tradition of excellence on the Broncos, the team whose history of success might be most under-appreciated by the league.
It’s fair to note Lynch, who won his Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay, did not grow into stardom with the Broncos, as Thompson, Smith and Atwater did.
For a team whose personnel acumen has been justifiably questioned in recent years, however, it’s also essential to acknowledge that signing Lynch as a free agent in 2004 is one of Shanahan’s shrewder moves.
Although he got to Hawaii as an alternate selection this year, it was the ninth time Lynch has been invited to the Pro Bowl. San Francisco’s Ronnie Lott, considered the greatest safety to ever don shoulder pads, made the Pro Bowl 10 times.
So you tell me: When the time comes, how could the Hall of Fame possibly deny Lynch admission?
Maybe Lynch has lost a step. He can’t keep those big hits coming forever. Should he return for a 16th NFL season, there will be times when the veteran safety will appear old.
Lynch is the rare, aging athlete who has the strength to look in the mirror and be brutally honest when analyzing how much football is left in his body.
While he will consult with Shanahan, hear the lobbying efforts from teammates and consider family wishes, all Lynch needs to do when contemplating retirement is listen to his heart.
But anybody who wants the Broncos to get back in the playoff hunt in 2008 would make one tiny suggestion to Lynch:
Don’t go.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
