Dec. 30, 2008: Two days after the Broncos lost the final game of the 2008 season — a victory would have put them in the playoffs — owner Pat Bowlen fired Mike Shanahan after 14 seasons. Part of the reason, Bowlen said at a joint news conference Dec. 31, was that Shanahan had too much power as both coach and vice president of football operations.
What they said: “I don’t anticipate that the next head coach will have both of those jobs,” Bowlen said. “Ultimately, it will end up on my desk. I’m here every day and I make the decisions. I run the show.”
Jan. 12, 2009: Bowlen announces at news conference to introduce Josh McDaniels as coach that Jim Goodman would be the organization’s general manager, overseeing two assistant GMs: his son, Jeff, and Brian Xanders. All three had worked under Shanahan.
What they said: “Jim would make the call if there’s an issue in terms of personnel,” McDaniels said that day.
Feb. 12, 2009: Only a month later, Bowlen fired both Jim and Jeff Goodman and appointed Xanders as the team’s sole general manager. The team said Xanders would work in tandem with McDaniels, though the coach had final say over the roster. The team later hired Keith Kidd as the director of pro scouting and Matt Russell as the director of college scouting. Kidd and Russell, a former University of Colorado linebacker, both previously worked with McDaniels in New England.
What they said: “Really, what I was interested in doing was resetting the way we do business around here. Brian Xanders was what I considered a true general manager,” Bowlen said.
Dec. 6, 2010: Bowlen and Joe Ellis fired McDaniels, 26 games into McDaniels’ tenure. At the news conference announcing the change, Ellis admitted that the front office erred in giving McDaniels too much power, and said the organization would be structured differently under the next regime.
What they said: “It’s fair to say that we probably burdened him with too much of that and we were unfair to him in that respect. We certainly need to assess that and look at that moving forward,” Ellis said.
Jan. 5, 2011: Broncos introduce John Elway as the new executive vice president of football operations, while announcing Ellis’ new role as team president, a job title previously held by Bowlen. Ellis will have ultimate authority over all franchise happenings, while Elway will oversee general manager Xanders and the new coach.
What they said: “He will bring great football knowledge, he will bring common sense and intelligence, competitive fire, leadership, a clear vision of where we need to go from this point forward and, most importantly, a complete and clear understanding and an appreciation of what the Denver Broncos mean to this community, to our fans and to Pat Bowlen,” Ellis said.
Lindsay H. Jones, The Denver Post
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, the date Broncos
coach Josh McDaniels was fired was incorrect. McDaniels was fired Dec. 6, 2010.
