ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Shut-down cornerback Champ Bailey hasn’t shut out the possibility of a return to the Denver Broncos.
He’s hoping to be back, depending on who the Broncos hire as their new coach and how fast he thinks they can turn things around from a frachise-worst 12-win season.
At 32, Bailey doesn’t want to sign on to a rebuilding project.
“I want to be here,” Bailey said Monday as players cleaned out their lockers following a season-ending 33-28 loss to the Chargers. “I’m not going to shortchange myself at all. I want to win. If I feel like I have a better opportunity to win somewhere else, that’s what it’s going to be. First and foremost, my concentration lies here.
“Hopefully, I can make that work.”
Bailey sat out the season finale Sunday with a bruised right heel in what may have been his final game for the Broncos.
He will have quite a few suitors following the season he turned in, bottling up one elite receiver after another. Bailey is the first alternate for the Pro Bowl, meaning he could very well wind up with his 10th appearance, which would be a record for cornerbacks.
The Broncos nearly locked him into a deal in mid-October. But as he was mulling an extension, the team withdrew the proposal, leaving his future in the Mile High City uncertain.
He’s coming off his seventh season in Denver after arriving in a trade from Washington for running back Clinton Portis in 2004.
And there appears to be no subsiding of his coverage skills, either. No matter who he faced, Bailey was up for the task, clamping down on Baltimore’s Anquan Boldin and Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald.
But his best work was Dec. 5 at Kansas City when he shut down Chiefs standout wideout Dwayne Bowe, who came into the game on quite a roll.
While his preference will be to play for a winner, that doesn’t mean he’ll sacrifice salary and come at a bargain rate.
“Do I look like I should be for sale? That’s not gonna happen,” Bailey said, grinning. “I’m going to get what I can get, but really the determining factor is going to be how big of chance of winning will I have? That’s definitely going to play a bigger part than the money part.”
The Broncos (4-12) will soon begin a reclamation project after turning in their worst season in franchise history. It will start this week when John Elway is expected to come aboard as the chief football executive.
From there, a coaching staff will be assembled with interim coach Eric Studesville receiving the first interview. As for who may wind up as the defensive coordinator, Bailey has no way of knowing.
But he wouldn’t mind seeing Don “Wink” Martindale running the show again, even if the Broncos had one of the worst units in the league.
“If I had my input, I’d fight for him,” Bailey said. “Who’s the coordinator right now is not what I’m worried about at this point. Down the road, it’s going to be the most important decision, once everything else gets laid out.”
Bailey re-injured his right heel Dec. 26 against Houston, an injury that has hampered him all season and forced him to sit out the finale. He said the injury won’t require surgery.
“I don’t like that word surgery,” Bailey squeamishly said. “After a couple of weeks of not being on my feet, it will go away.”
The Broncos are hoping that’s not the case with Bailey.
“He’s a great coach on and off the field, especially to me,” said rookie cornerback Perrish Cox, who was taken under Bailey’s wing this season and taught the finer points of the position. “I go to him for everything. I wouldn’t want him to leave. If so, I’ll keep in contact with him, ask him anything and everything.”
Bailey’s not writing off Denver even after the tumultuous season it had, knowing a rebound year—like Kansas City turned in—can happen in an instant.
“I’m hopeful that can happen here,” Bailey said. “I’m hoping I can be a part of it.”
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EAGER PUPIL: When asked if he considered himself the incumbent starter, rookie Tim Tebow sidestepped the question like an oncoming defensive lineman.
“Um, I don’t know. I’m just going to work and worry about what I can control,” Tebow said.
Like improving from one season to the next.
Tebow may not have the most polished mechanics, and his footwork may still need refinement, but he’s galvanized a fan base in just three games since filling in for Kyle Orton. He was the reason a majority of the Broncos backers showed up against San Diego at Invesco Field on Sunday, even with nothing on the line.
“I think it was invaluable experience,” Tebow said of his time under center.
With Tebow around, Orton isn’t sure what his future holds with the Broncos. He was in the midst of his most productive passing season when he was sidelined with bruised ribs, paving the way for Tebow to step in.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Orton said. “Obviously, there are a lot of things that could happen, but I’m not going to worry about it right now.”
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EXTRA POINTS: Broncos DB Nate Jones has a case of wanderlust and his travel plans will keep him quite busy. His offseason adventures include trips to New Jersey and Florida, some sightseeing in Beijing, an excursion to the Caribbean, a possible hop over to Hawaii and maybe, if there’s time, a jaunt to Europe. “Love getting out and seeing new things and seeing new places, meeting new people,” Jones said. “This earth is big; bigger than America. It puts things in perspective when you see how people live in other places.” … LB Robert Ayers was walking around the locker room Monday with his right foot in a boot. He said he was stepped on in the Chargers game but insisted it wasn’t serious.
