On Tuesday, less than a day after John Fox and the Broncos , the team’s executive vice president and general manager, John Elway, . Here’s the full transcript of his press conference:
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Opening Comments
“I’d like to start out this press conference with a thank you to John Fox, on behalf of (owner) Pat Bowlen, (president and CEO) Joe Ellis and myself. We had four tremendous years with John here. We won 49 games and four AFC West Championships. It really was a good run. When I first got the job four years ago, the first thing I had to do was hire a coach, and John was a perfect guy for the job at that time. His energy and the type of guy he is was what we needed four years ago. John was that perfect guy. The tenaciousness, his exuberance, his energy at that time was perfect. He never lost that. It was perfect at the time. I’d like to thank him and his staff for four great years. It obviously didn’t get where we wanted it to get in those four years, but last year we had a great playoff run. Obviously, it didn’t end up the way we wanted it to, but a lot of good things did happen.
“The conversation with John yesterday — we both came out with the idea that it was time to move on for both of us. The one thing that came out of that meeting, especially on his side of it, was the timing. The more he talked about the timing, especially for him but also for us, it was the right time. So we mutually agreed to part ways. But again, I want to go back and say I like John Fox as a man very much. He’s a very, very good man. He’s got a tremendous heart — even the new one they fixed is still tremendous. (He is) a guy that I will always have a personal relationship with. When we did get up and he left the room, we gave each other a hug and wished each other the best of luck. That relationship will always remain that way. We as an organization do owe John Fox a tremendous amount because of what he did accomplish the last four years.”
On if his working relationship with Fox was strained:
“I think in any relationship, whether it be player-coach, coach-GM, you’re always going to have bumpy patches. I think the main thing between John and I was we disagreed how to get to the next level. We accomplished so much — four AFC West Championships — but I think the biggest miss between us was how we can take that next step and what is was going to take to get to that next step. I think that’s where that disagreement came from. We have a great working relationship. You always have things you’re not going to agree on. That’s always true. Was it perfect? No. The key thing, as I just said, that we did not agree on how to get to the next step. I go back to the same thing, talking about timing for John, the opportunities that will be out there for John and also the opportunities that will be out there for the Denver Broncos.”
On if he sees Peyton Manning being here as part of the team’s next step:
“I do. I did have a great conversation with Peyton yesterday. We sat and talked about the game. I said, ‘The last thing we’re going to talk about at this point in time, having been through what you’re going through now Peyton, we’re not going to talk about your future’ because he needs to get away. I knew as a player the last thing after that last game that you want to do is talk about your future because even though mine was much happier than ours was yesterday because of what happened on Sunday, in his situation, I told him, ‘Let’s not even go into the future. Just know how much we want you back but you need to take the time and get away from this.’ I told him in four or five weeks — I’m going to stay in touch with him — we’ll get back together and see where he is because the career that he’s had, what he’s done not only in the NFL but in the short time he’s been here with the Denver Broncos, what he’s meant to us is tremendous. So we’ll continue to monitor that. But the bottom line is we want him back and it’s going to come down to what Peyton wants to do.”
On what he’s looking for in the next head coach:
“I feel real good about our roster. I think contrary to what everybody thinks we’ve got a good roster here. We’ve got a relatively young roster. We’re going to have eight or nine picks in the draft next year. We’ve got a good base of guys for the most part, with the exception of a couple Thomases (WR Demaryius Thomas and TE Julius Thomas) and a couple other guys we’ll work on once we get through the coaching search to be able to tie them down [and] hopefully have them back. So I feel great about our football team. And so the next guy, what do I look for? I look for a guy that’s very smart, that’s competitive, that is aching to win world championships like I am. And I think there are a lot of things. You want to get like-minded people. I think that helps a lot, or even to have a great conversation, agree to disagree, but come out with the right decision for what’s best for the Denver Broncos, which is our main goal. I know there are a lot of quality candidates out there. So after we get done here, we look forward to starting that process.”
On what it takes to get to the next level:
“I think that we’ve got to peak a little bit later than we peaked, but I’m not going to get into our conversation of where our differences were. I’m just going to tell you that we had differences there. I feel very fortunate in having played for the Denver Broncos for several years — for 16 years — playing for some great coaches, and saw both sides of it: saw the losses in the Super Bowl and saw what it took to get to that next level. Hopefully, those thoughts and the way that we did things when we got to the next level, we can put those things into play here now and with the next coach.”
On if Manning is capable of playing more years health-wise and if his own history can give perspective on that:
“I can’t speak for Peyton, and I won’t speak for Peyton. I can speak for myself. I think only Peyton knows how his body feels and what’s going on within his body. I think that that is something that people have to deal with, and when he goes through his decision, that will be a part of it. I think, for me, it was the right time for me to go. I think with Peyton, he’ll be the one that knows what’s right for him or not.”
On if Jay Glazer’s report played any role is parting ways with Fox:
“No, the comment did not. We were planning on going full steam ahead. We were planning on moving on and doing the best we could with the playoffs and hopefully play much better than we played on Sunday against the Colts. So we were full steam ahead and plans were for us to play well and continue in the playoffs. I think as time went and then the game was over, we started visiting in the back, talking, looking back on the last four years on conversations I had with Joe Ellis and his input. And what he thought was the right thing and so all those type of things happened in a relatively short period of time. And I think John and from his side, exploring what his options were in a short period of time after the game until we met yesterday at 2 o’clock, obviously led to his decision that this would probably be the best time for us to go separate ways.”
On if this would have happened if they had more success this season:
“It’s hard to say. I think hypotheticals are always tough. I would have to say that if we won the Super Bowl, this probably wouldn’t have happened. I think that it’s something that is hard to put a hypothetical on.”
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On if he had contacted anyone about the coaching job yet and how will the process go:
“I have not. You know why? Because the last thing I would ever want to do is lie to the media people (laughing). I have not contacted anybody about the job so I can be dead honest to you when I say, ‘No we have not talked to anybody yet.’ Obviously we have done some things that we have to do before we can make contact and so we will do that. That is what we have done down here.”
On what has been missing to go along with the talent on the roster for the last three years:
“Good point. I don’t know. I think if you look at us as a whole there is no one person to blame by any means. Everybody’s a participant in this and obviously we have not chosen to peak at the right time. I think if you look at our seasons, we come out of the gate a lot faster than we finish. If there is one thing that I can point at is we haven’t finished as strong as we started. I think for us to do what we want to do, for us to win a World Championship, like Mr. Bowlen wants to do, we have to be peaking at the right time. We haven’t been able to do that. There is no one person to put it on, it’s everybody involved and we just got to figure out how to play better later in the year.”
On if he is looking for a coach that thinks like him:
“We are looking at everybody. There are a bunch of growing, top candidates out there so we are going to go through the process, we are going to look at everyone, look at everybody’s run and whether or not they will fit and make the best decision for the Denver Broncos. It’s hard to say anything right now. I’m not going to get into the relationship I have with different people — there are some options out there that I know a lot about.”
On if it is time to move on to Plan B:
“There is no plan B. Plan A is still the same and that is to win the World Championship. Therefore we are going to continue to do that. I think it is going to be a great opportunity for the next head coach to come in here and have the opportunity to learn quickly and compete for a World Championship with a team that we add to this spring, continue to try to get better as a football team. So I’m looking forward to the opportunity. I think it’s fair and we’re obviously disappointed. I sat down here last year in front of you and told the fans how we’re just as disappointed this year as we were last year and the fact that we didn’t play better at the end of the year. I think if there is one thing that you would like to have and you want to feel — at least in the last game you want to feel like you go out kicking and screaming. When you’re right there and I think two years in a row it didn’t feel like we went out kicking and screaming because of the fact the way we played the last game. So therefore hopefully we get that turned around. That is going to be our goal. We have a bunch of people upstairs on the personnel side that are looking forward to working their tails off and we are going to have a tremendous draft, we are going to get busy on free agency and to continue to try to sift through all the players that are out there in free agency hoping to be able to add some people that will make us a better football team. So looking forward, it’s exciting. As I said, [there are] a lot of exciting candidates out there that are going to give us an opportunity to make us a better football team.”
On the timeframe for getting a new head coach is difficult with Manning’s timeline for returning next year:
“Peyton’s going to be involved. I’m going to talk to Peyton as we go through the process. But there is no timetable. I think we want to be thorough with it. As I said, there are a lot of good candidates, so we want to be thorough with it. So there’s really no timeline to it. We want to find the best guy that’s going to fit that seat upstairs in the head coach’s office the best.”
On if there are deadlines that trigger elements of Manning’s contract:
“Yeah. The start of the new league year with his contract, there are some stipulations in there that we have to be aware of. So we’ll have to have discussions with Peyton before we get there.”
On if he thinks Manning has another season left in him:
“I think he does. I think that we’ve seen what he did this year. Obviously, 10 games into the year we had a little shift as far as what we did on offense, trying to create more balance. So therefore it was something new for him, because he hadn’t had that balance before. So therefore, it was a bit of an adjustment for him and I think he did a heck of a job adjusting. And so everyone’s trying to tie it to the numbers, but if you think about Peyton Manning and you think about the numbers that he’s put up for his whole career and the numbers he put up in the last six games—I think we won four or five of them in that stretch—they just weren’t quite the numbers, but Peyton was still making the right decisions and still playing as well as he’s ever played.”
On how angry a game like Sunday makes him and if it affects his decision the next day:
“You always want to take the emotions out of football decisions, No. 1. So I think that’s why we took some time and met later in the day rather than in the morning. And I think that as far as Sunday’s game, I think it was more disappointing. I talked to several players yesterday when they were checking out, and what I told them, I said, ‘I’ve sat in your chair before and I’ve played before,’ and I said, ‘The way that I look at it, having sat in your chair and the chair I’m in now, my job is to give you the best opportunity to win a World Championship. And that’s what I want to do.’ So to give these players that chance, a couple times that I’ve talked to the team, I’ve emphasized the work that they have to put in to be World Champions, it’s all worth it. So that’s where I look at my job. No. 1 as Pat and Joe Ellis, answering to them, and No. 2 is giving these players and coaches the best opportunity to be successful. Because to be able to be successful in this league, as hard as it is, and to be able to compete for more championships, it’s hard. And to be able to accomplish that, it’s something that lasts for a lifetime. So I look at my job and that’s why I get excited about my job because obviously it’s a disappointing end but I get excited about my job now because now I know we’ve got a chance to figure out a way to get better. And doing it the next year with the attitude that we’re going to be back, competing again and hopefully we can win another West and set our goals up the same as this year. But that’s the way I look at it. So I’m disappointed. I get disappointed for the players because I know how hard they work and how much time they put in to what they do, to be able to have it end the way it ends. And no matter what, the excitement of getting in the playoffs is exciting, but the losses when you’re in the playoffs are just as low as the highs are when you get into the playoffs. So therefore, I feel bad for the players. But as disappointing and bad I felt for the players and the coaches, I’m now that excited to be able to start the next term as far as what we’re going to do on the football side with the next head coach and the new staff that’s going to be created with that guy.”
On how a new coach will affect Manning’s future and how Manning’s future will affect coaching candidates:
“I think that it’s too early for us to talk about Peyton, whether Peyton’s going to come back or not. Especially for Peyton to talk about it. Until Peyton figures that out, there’s no sense in us really talking about it. There is no question the candidates are going to want to know where Peyton is. At that point in time, I’m going to say the same thing I’m telling you all right now. We don’t know exactly what he’s going to do. We’ll just to have to wait and see and go from there.”
On if Manning’s decision to come back will be affected by the offensive line:
“Having been a quarterback, he knows that I’m going to take care of him and that offensive line. We always want to protect the quarterback. I think that changing things for those guys might help them also and we’ll do what we can do this offseason and try to help them also.”
On how much Manning’s injury affected him during the game:
“I didn’t talk to him after the game. I didn’t ask about him physically after the game. For me to say where he was, I don’t know. There were reports before the game that he had two torn quads. I did ask him, ‘Do you have two torn quads?’ and he goes, ‘No, I don’t have two torn quads.’ But he did have a strain in one quad. But he said I felt fine. Whether he reinjured it during the game or not, I don’t know.”
On how much Manning’s performance was affected by his injury:
“I didn’t get into that with Peyton yesterday either. I don’t know how much it did affect him. Obviously that was kind of water under the bridge and we didn’t talk about that.”
On if offensive coordinator Adam Gase and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio are head coaching candidates for the Broncos:
“Yes, they are candidates. As far as the coaches — I know there was some misinformation out there — the coaches have not been released. They are still under contract with the Broncos. I did give them the ability to talk to different people, but they have not all been released. They are still under contract with the Broncos.”
On how much responsibility for not going out “kicking and screaming” sits on the players vs. the coaches:
“Everybody has to take responsibility, there is no question about that. The bottom line is it does fall on the players and the players are the ones out there playing in the end. I always felt that responsibility as a player that it’s up to us, for the coaches to put us in the best situation and then for us to go out there and execute it and play and play well—especially when you get into the playoffs, you can’t have a bad day. You’ve got to play well. So there is responsibility with the players and responsibility with everybody, as well as the coaches. Again, I go back to the same thing, it’s a disappointing that we didn’t have more fire. I don’t know why we didn’t have more fire; it’s hard to explain. It’s always difficult coming off of byes. How do you handle byes? So I don’t have that answer.”
On if there may be different decisions regarding the players based on Sunday’s performance:
“We haven’t dug into that now. We’ll go over (that) with the staff tomorrow. We’ll go over the player evaluations with the whole staff tomorrow and we’ll start digging into free agency and go through those evaluations.”
On if he thinks Fox, Gase or Del Rio had “one foot out the door” before Sunday’s game:
“No, I don’t think so. I think that’s part of this league — anytime you’re successful people are going to want to interview your coaches. So by no means did I think that Adam Gase or Jack Del Rio were in mind for somewhere else. I think obviously it’s a great opportunity for them and the opportunities that they’ve gotten for them to be interviewed and be candidates to be other head coaches they’ve earned. So that’s just part of this league. I don’t think that affected them; they’re professional and they’ve done a hell of a job the whole year.”
On if Gase and Del Rio will be interviewed for the Broncos head coaching vacancy:
“They’re both candidates. I’m not talking about interviewing or anything here. We’re going by candidates, and whether they get interviewed or not, I’m not going to get into that.”
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On if he thinks he knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl because he did it as a player:
“I can only speak for myself and I do think there is a huge jump from being at the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl. I was fortunate to be able to see the difference and how that worked and how good you had to be as a football team and how well you had to be playing at that time to be a World Champion. Because the team you’re going to play is going to be a great, great football team, no matter what league or Super Bowl. So I’ve always said, to win the division it’s here, to win the conference it’s here, to get to the Super Bowl it’s here and then to win a Super Bowl it’s here (raises hands to different levels). I believe that because I’ve been there and I’ve seen the difference. So I do believe that there is a huge jump from just getting there and having the ability to win it. Can I put my finger on it? No. But I was around it and I saw it, so whether I know it consciously or subconsciously, I know what it feels like and I know what it takes, especially with players and a coaching staff to be able to do that. And that’s something where I can only speak for myself because of the opportunities I was provided by the Broncos and what I learned then and what I’m applying now.”
