John Elway began his latest comeback today.
The Broncos officially named him executive vice president of football operations this morning and he held a 1:30 p.m. news conference today at the team’s Dove Valley headquarters. Scroll down to participate in our live chat, or .
Some things we already know:
That means Ellis is officially running the team on a day-to-day basis, as he has been the past two years. Elway will report to Ellis.
“John has won championships as both a player and executive, and his experience will be a valuable addition to this franchise,” Bowlen said in a statement. “He is the perfect fit for this role, and I am excited to welcome him back to the Denver Broncos.”
Elway wants the challenge
Elway’s been asked a number of times why he wants to take up this challenge at age 50. He said, “I know how to make money … but I wanted to do something to get my heart pumping.”
Consensus a big deal
Elway said it will be his job to break any ties regarding personnel moves, but has said over and over that he wants a consensus between him and Xanders.
Elway talks Tebow
It seems clear that Elway is a Tim Tebow fan. It’s also clear that he believes Tebow is an unfinished product. Elway said he believes Tebow is a great football player, but has work to do to become a great quarterback. He also said the new coach will also be a Tebow fan.
Elway talked to Jim Harbaugh
Elway said he won’t try talking Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh out of staying in college football, but Elway did say he told Harbaugh that if he goes to the NFL, the Broncos are very interested.
Elway energetic
After being introuduced by Ellis and Bowlen, John Elway took the podium with the same passion with which he played the game. He stressed that retaining the fans’ loyalty and passion is paramount.
Bowlen said he hoped that one day Elway would say, “This one’s for Pat!”
Elway, Xanders meet with assistants
The Broncos assistant coaches, all in limbo since the end of a dismal 4-12 season, spent this morning meeting with Elway, as well as Xanders.
Each of former head coach Josh McDaniels’ assistants were to have roughly 25 minutes individually to give Elway and Xanders evaluations of the players under the direction of that specific coach. The meetings started early this morning and were scheduled to go several hours.
The meetings were designed to help Elway get up to speed on the team’s current personnel and to give the team’s football decision-makers a chance to ask questions of the assistant coaches. The coaches spent Monday completing the player evaluations.
Several of the Broncos assistants were already reaching out to former associates around the league about potential openings. Few expect to be retained in Denver, though a couple will likely be extended the opportunity to interview for positions when the team’s new head coach is hired.
Interim head coach Eric Studesville is scheduled to formally interview for the Broncos’ head coaching job next week.
