Denver Post sports columnist Woody Paige posts Woody’s Mailbag on Thursdays.
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Woody, why does Joe Ellis fly under radar so easily if Pat Bowlen trusts him so much? Wasn’t he the one who was doing backflips over Josh McDaniels’ plans at his initial interview (which apparently involved making Broncos fans hate their team)? Did he rise through the ranks through the marketing department? Is it really that hard to market the NFL in one of the most stalwart NFL cities? What level of competence does this guy bring to the table besides maneuvering behind the scenes and convincing Bowlen to fire a HOF coach and bring in this current clown?
What has Joe Ellis ever done to establish that he has the necessary level of competence? Isn’t he a member of the Bush family? How do we know that this isn’t the basis for his ascension within the team?
The whole current state of affairs is disgraceful but there’s plenty of blame to go around. Why does Joe Ellis get to fly under the radar?
— Alex L., Chicago
Alex: Before we get to the juicy stuff, first off: I like Joe Ellis. He is a sharp, smart, slick kind of guy. I don’t agree with everything he does, and, truthfully, most of what he does doesn’t matter to me or you. (You don’t really care about stadium management, ticket operations, oversight on practice facilities and, yawn …)
In regard to the Bush family, the elder Bush is Ellis’ uncle, and the younger Bush is his cousin. Ellis once set up an appearance by “W” at Dove Valley, and it blew up in everybody’s face, indicating that the Broncos — especially Pat Bowlen and Mike Shanahan — had a presidential preference. Truth is, both are Republicans, and so is John Elway. I don’t know what Kyle Orton is, honestly.
There is no evidence that Ellis used his political influence to get a job with the Broncos, or that he has flaunted his membership in the Bush family.
He graduated from Colorado College. He was the Broncos marketing director for a while in the 80s, which was rather a nebbish post. He dealt with promotions and stuff.
He went back to school (Northwestern) for his master’s, then went to work in the NFL office, where he specialized in trying to get new stadiums built in league cities.
He came back to the Broncos, primarily to help the Broncos get the new stadium. They did, and he benefited.
A couple of years ago he was named the chief operating officer of the Broncos, which would make him No. 2 overall to Bowlen (unless you counted Shanahan as No. 1, and I did.) There. So that’s who he is.
It’s not unusual for professional sports teams to have men and women with backgrounds in public relations and marketing as top executives. A former P.R. guy for the Nuggets is currently the vice president of an NBA team. Pete Rozelle was marketing/P.R. type before he became NFL commissioner. Business guys run the business side; football guys run the football side.
Ellis does tend to fly under the radar, although I’ve mentioned him in columns and this mailbag many times.
Now, on to the juicy stuff. He is somewhat the man behind the curtain. Over the past year or so Bowlen, who trusts Ellis completely, has turned over more responsibility and authority to Ellis. Bowlen just doesn’t want to deal with the uninteresting side of football, and Ellis is his point man on many issues.
From what I understand, Ellis and Shanahan were not the closest of friends (and Shanahan would agree), and Ellis urged Bowlen to fire Shanahan before the 2008 season, and again toward the end, because of the club’s mediocrity and the out-of-control spending on free agents.
Bowlen decided by himself, at the end of 2008, to dump Shanahan, and Ellis was on the (small) committee to seek a replacement. There was agreement that Josh McDaniels interviewed well, had the background and was a New England guy, and the Broncos wanted to emulate the Patriots.
Ellis was sent (alone) by Bowlen for the second interview, and came back and said McDaniels should be the choice. With Shanahan gone, Ellis has more power within the organization, and I’m sure Josh owes him a debt.
Because Bowlen is not as involved in day-to-day operations, Ellis has emerged as, say, Cheney did with Bush, particularly as Bowlen’s finances got tighter and needed more controls.
Ellis does show up in the locker room now after games, and he is very visible at the stadium and at Dove Valley. But Bowlen does make the final, most important decisions. There. You know as much as I do.
Am I going to blame Ellis when the Broncos lose or draft lousy players or don’t go to the Super Bowl? Not yet.
Am I going to blame him for the new stadium not being a great home field for the team? Sure, why not. It’s in his domain.
Am I going to blame him if the Broncos have another bad season? There will be enough blame to go around, and he will certainly deserve his share.
Last August, I thought Brandon Marshall was a selfish brat. Viewing the last year through the lens of his testimony at the Darrent Williams murder trial last week, I now view him as a young man dealing with the grief of a friend’s death and the guilt of having unintentionally contributed to the events that caused it. Taking professional standards aside, I think Broncoland needs to come together around this young man, pay him market rate for his talents, and be a family to him; or we need to gracefully let him move on, on his own terms, with our sympathies and our thanks for the years he gave us. Your thoughts?
— Matthew Trinidad, Carbondale
Matthew: I think that would be a fair evaluation of Brandon, if there hadn’t been so many other problems attached to him.
Marshall and his cousin escalated some of the trouble that led to Darrent Williams’ death. I’m sure that what happened that night still weighs heavily on him, and probably is one of the reasons Marshall wanted out of Denver.
But you can’t blame his attitude, his demand for more money, his problems with his ex-girlfriend, his lame effort during training camp last year, his stupidity at the end of the season and all the run-ins with the law before and after on the events surrounding the New Year’s Eve tragedy.
I applaud Brandon for his willingness to testify (although I guess he could have been held in contempt if he didn’t).
I like Brandon some of the time, and I thought late last season the Broncos should have rewarded him. Then he pulled that stunt of not wanting to play in the final game when they needed him.
I’ve had enough. If the Broncos want to keep him and pay him top-dollar money as a wide receiver, so be it. I’m not in charge.
But it’s best for everybody, I believe, that he move on, and that the Broncos get a first-round draft choice (if they can) in return and replace him.
Woodrow! I’m not feeling the love! You are completely overlooking one of the biggest stories in college basketball. Steve Alford has the University of New Mexico Lobos in the top 10 with huge wins over all kinds of ranked opponents. More importantly to Lobo fans, he has the brought back the magic to the Pit, which is once again sold out and rocking every home game. C’mon, man!
— Anthony Vallejos, Los Alamos, N.M.
Anthony: Alford may have deserved our love until he went off on a BYU player over the weekend, calling the young man a very offensive word.
Alford has done a stupendous job with New Mexico, which might end up as a No. 2 seed, but he didn’t help himself lately. The kid threw an inadvertent elbow.
I have always loved The Pit and wanted to see New Mexico basketball return to power. Plus, I like Albuquerque.
But some of the things Steve learned from Bob Knight don’t need to be duplicated.
Woody, I understand that CU is in the Big 12, but when are the Colorado State Rams ever going to get any credit in this state? The Post is obsessed with CU and its lack of sporting achievements, yet every school well-deserving of publicity is overlooked. When CU lost to top-ranked Kansas (LOST being the key word), it was treated as though it won the game. Yet the Rams almost beat New Mexico (No. 10) and it was a small side note in the paper. Must you guys be reminded CSU has beaten CU in every sport this year? Not to mention the fact that the Mountain West Conference is becoming very relevant.
— Reno, Fort Collins
Reno: I’ve had this discussion with CSU fans since I arrived in Denver in 1974. “We don’t get any respect.”
Well, you’re coming to the wrong person. I was the only columnist at CSU’s bowl appearance two years ago. I have gone with the Rams to probably a half dozen bowls and many important conference road games.
I’ve written positive things about CSU forever, and I like CSU. I gave the introductory speech for Sonny Lubick at the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
The Denver Post covers Colorado State with Natalie Meisler, who, for two decades, has stayed on top of that beat better than anyone else ever has. You get credit in this state all the time, especially when you beat Colorado in football and basketball.
I go to and write about the Colorado School of Mines every year, and the Orediggers had the best quarterback in the state. We go to Wyoming, Air Force, Nebraska and Northern Colorado games — when they are good and when they are bad.
Colorado State has an inferiority complex, and I get tired of alums who are my friends whining all the time, then won’t make the trip up to Fort Collins to fill the stadium or the arena, and don’t donate more than 12 bucks to the program.
The wife of another prominent writer on The Post’s staff graduated from CSU, and the writer goes to their games all the time and writes about them.
I’ve written until I’m tired of myself about the Mountain West and the Western Athletic conferences getting their due nationally.
But it’s never enough for CSU, which, let’s face it, is not an annual top 25 program in football or basketball.
Colorado is the No. 1 school in the state, like it or not. All polls show that. The Post reflects what people want to read.
I’m not Red Smith or Jim Murray, and I accept that.
Colorado plays in the Big 12, which gets more respect, and has stronger teams, than the Mountain West.
Colorado tends to draw 50,000 for home games; CSU gets, maybe, 25,000. This season the Buffs have averaged 6,096 fans at its 15 home games, while the Rams have drawn an average of 3,360 to their 14 home games.
It’s not fair that the Yankees get more attention than the Rockies, but they do.
Colorado is in the metropolitan area. Colorado State, as you’ve heard, is about 55 miles away. You have to share the state with CU (unlike in Nebraska), and CU is at the front of the stage.
But I will tell you this. Your school makes very little effort to have a strong presence in the Denver market. They don’t seem to care in Fort Collins.
I’m sure you’ll disagree with all that, but it’s the reality. CSU, except for rare occasions, will always be No. 2 in Colorado.
What are your thoughts on Champ Bailey these days? He is getting long in the tooth and just doesn’t seem to be as dominant as he was in the past. Would it make sense for the Broncos to trade him while he is still worth something?
— Sean C., Chicago
Sean: Where to? Chicago? You want all the good Broncos, don’t you?
I’ve been told my answers are too long. So, short and simple: The Broncos don’t have anybody yet to replace Champ.
Alphonso Smith can’t — now or maybe ever.
Champ is still one of the top half dozen corners in football. He’s a great leader on this team, and a class act, and has a quality influence on the younger players.
And you couldn’t get equal value in return because of his salary level.
Woody, with all the woes in the running game last year, is there any chance the Broncos go after an L.T. or possibly Brian Westbrook? A reunion for Westbrook and Brian Dawkins might not be bad. What are your thoughts?
— Marc G, Oakland, Calif.
Mark: L.T. is finished, in my opinion. In the last four years his yard-per-carry average has dropped from 5.2 to 3.3. In his last four playoff games he was no help and had, what, 12 carries for 24 yards the past postseason.
Running backs, especially those who have been used a lot, run down in a hurry these days.
Brian Westbrook is more intriguing because he’s a third-down receiver. And because he has been hurt often — this won’t make much sense — he has fresher legs.
Westbrook wouldn’t be a bad choice, but the Broncos have three backs, if you still think Peyton Hillis is a back here. And there’s not enough carries and catches to go around now. I think they will draft a running back in the later rounds and hope he works out.
Woody: I heard a rumor that Knowshon Moreno was in a bar fight. Have you ever been in a bar fight?
— Shawn Graham, Westminster
Shawn, I’m a lover. The only fight I’ve ever really been in was when I was a freshman in high school, and an older kid, Tykie Thompson, got in my face and was on my case, and the coach said we’d settle it in boxing gloves.
The next day we got in the middle of 100 boys. Tykie swung at me. I ducked. He missed. And I fell down. End of fight.
Tykie called to apologize for breaking my nose. I told him I broke my ankle. There was no rematch. I appeared in the last “Rocky” movie, though, if that counts.
Woody Paige first joined The Denver Post in 1981 as a sports columnist. , or .
