The Denver Broncos has now been in the post-John Elway era for four days as general manager. Elway resigned as GM on Monday, opting to assume a “high” role on the front lines of the Broncos in what is the last year of his executive contract.
Change is in the air. Elway, with the club’s short- and long-term viability in mind, adopted the adapt-or-die philosophy after the Broncos lost the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.
The critical question now is: who will lead the Broncos to the next era? Elway, along with CEO Joe Ellis, trainer Vic Fangio and communications director Patrick Smyth, are working to answer that question now.
GM’s hiring committee launched a broad network in its search for the next leader and has since reduced its list of candidates to five. Another candidate or two may join the conversation at some point, but it appears that the five executives the Broncos interviewed represent the full list of finalists.
On Friday, the Broncos began their first interviews via Zoom, starting with GM VP / Assistant Team President George Paton of Minnesota Vikings.
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The Broncos provided a short bio-synopsis of the highlights of Paton’s curriculum.
Notable previous positions: Professional Personnel Director, Miami Dolphins (2001-06), Assistant Professional Personnel Director, Chicago Bears (2000)
After more than a decade with the Vikings, Paton may be an option for the Broncos. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported on Tuesday that the Broncos had asked for permission to interview Paton, which had an impact on both the Vikings’ faculty and the efforts of professional scouts. The Vikings found a gem in the 2020 NFL Draft when they selected Justin Jefferson as the 22nd overall choice. Jefferson’s 1,400 yards are first among newcomers in the Super Bowl era. Paton was interviewed for the position of general manager in Cleveland a season ago, before returning to Minnesota.
After the interview, the Broncos tweeted, “Minnesota has acquired or rehired 26 players since 2007 who have combined for 55 Pro Bowl appearances with the team.”
Paton was running for the Carolina Panthers’ debut as a GM, but after accepting an interview with the club, he gave up to focus entirely on his opportunity to court the Broncos. The move signaled his commitment to Denver and an obstinate drive to get the job.
After the 2.5-hour interview with Paton, the Broncos turned their attention to the next candidate: Chicago Bears’ assistant player director, Champ Kelly.
Notable previous positions: Pro Scouting Director, Chicago Bears (2015-16); Assistant Director of Professional Personnel, Denver Broncos (2010-14); Assistant Coordinator of Pro and College Scouting, Broncos (2008-09); University Scout of the Northeast Region, Broncos (2007)
Kelly, who has spent the past six seasons with Bears, was previously hired by the Broncos for almost a decade. In addition to this connection, he has also worked with coach Vic Fangio before, when Fangio was the defensive coordinator for the 2015-18 Bears.
Looking from the outside in, Kelly seems to have an advantage over all opponents. He has a history with the Broncos, starting in Denver as an area scout in 2007 and working his way up to the 2010-14 assistant director of professional personnel.
Kelly left the Broncos to join Bears at the same time that Fangio arrived to serve as the team’s defensive coordinator under coach John Fox. Kelly not only has a previous working relationship with Fangio, but also with Elway four years ago.
On Saturday, the Broncos will conclude their first wave of interviews by holding Zoom meetings with New England Patriots assistant team player director Dave Ziegler, New Orleans Saints assistant scout / assistant director GM Terry Fontenot and with internal consideration Brian Stark, who has spent the past nine seasons in the Denver Scouting Department, serving the faculty’s Scouting Director for the past four years.
Don’t sleep at Stark. But internal reports point to the club’s leaders being Kelly and Fontenot. My gut tells me that Paton could be the guy who showed up, sort of like Fangio did with that head coach interview in 2019, and blow Elway’s hair back so much that he reorganized the priority totem for the second and last wave of interviews.
The Broncos appeared to have been inclined to sign Mike Munchak as head coach two years ago, before giving an interview to Fangio after the Bears were eliminated from the playoffs. Fangio connected with Elway, won him over and that’s all she wrote. The Broncos were lucky that Munchak agreed to still come to Denver and serve as an O-line coach.
The word on the streets is that the Broncos hope to conduct their “one or two” final interviews in person with the candidates early next week. On Wednesday, a new Broncos GM could be announced.
The GM hiring committee is moving fast, as the Senior Bowl week is just over a fortnight away and the Broncos will want to have their scouting ducks in a row.
Which candidate are you looking for? Speak in the comments section below!
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.