The lights are on and team CEO Joe Ellis is on the job on a Dove Valley. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
PHOENIX — It was John Elway who chose Gary Kubiak to become the Broncos’ new head coach January, but Joe Ellis had final-say authority.
The working relationship between Elway, the Broncos’ general manager, and former coach John Fox became strained in the previous year or so before they agreed to mutually part ways. Was Ellis, the Broncos’ chief executive officer and president, worried that former quarterback mates Elway and Kubiak were too chummy?
“Nope,” Ellis said. “They’re grownups. They’ll have disagreements. I suspect they might have had some when they were roommates on the road and in training camp. My feeling is they’ll work it out.”
Ellis also isn’t concerned about Peyton Manning, an immobile quarterback who is more comfortable operating from the shotgun and at line of scrimmage, meshing with Kubiak, who prefers to huddle up, have his quarterback take the ball from directly under center, and move the pocket.
“I think John said it best (Sunday): We’ve got a really smart coach and he’ll figure out a way to put the best team on the field,” Ellis said. “Gary has been all business since the day he arrived. He’ll give this organization and our community everything he has to win a Super Bowl.”
