What the Pat Bowlen News Means for the Denver Broncos
By Joe Morrone
January 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos executive John Elway and owner Pat Bowlen celebrate the 26-16 victory against the New England Patriots following the 2013 AFC Championship football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
As the Denver Post first reported, Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is taking a step back from his role to focus on his health. Bowlen has been fighting Alzheimer’s for a number of years now, and has decided that it is time to step back.
Although Bowlen did resign, it’s important to note that he is still the owner of the Broncos. If you missed it, I wrote the following a week ago as a tribute to Bowlen. It’s Past Time to Thank Pat Bowlen https://milehighmaniac.com/2014/07/18/past-time-thank-pat-bowlen/ …
Going forward, fans probably will not notice a difference in the day-to-day operations of the Broncos. President, Joe Ellis will assume control and make any decisions that would normally be made by Bowlen as he has been doing for quite some time now.
Ellis has been with Bowlen for many years and has the owner’s complete trust. Ellis has been the business face of the organization for a few years now as Bowlen has been in the background due to his illness. Bowlen has complete confidence in Ellis, and the fans should feel very comfortable going forward.
It was Ellis who stood at a press conference in the wake of the Josh McDaniels firing and took all the shots for that mess. Ellis is a smart businessman and will continue to run the team in Bowlen’s image.
John Elway was hired as Vice-President of Football Operations for a lot of reasons with the first being to rebuild the team on the field. He’s obviously done that and more. Bowlen also wanted to reconnect with the fans and improve the team’s image after the McDaniels mess, and Elway has accomplished that goal as well.
I also believe that Elway was hired with this day in mind; Bowlen knew this day was coming and he wanted people he trusted completely in charge of the Broncos. We’ve all ready touched on the relationship between Bowlen and Ellis, and how that impacts the business side.
I don’t believe it’s going out on too big of a limb to say that, outside of his family, Bowlen trusts Elway more than anyone else especially as it relates to the Broncos. Elway is the face of the team again, all due respect to Peyton Manning, and that’s what Bowlen wants.
For now, Elway will remain in full control of the football side of the building but don’t be surprised if he plays even a bigger role in the near future. A lot will depend on what Bowlens’ kids decide what they want their role to be, but I expect Elway to be at least a part owner of the Broncos in the coming years.
It’s a sad day, Bowlen is one of the best owners in all of sports and we were all hoping that this day would never come. However as he has always done, Bowlen has taking care of the Broncos.
The business side is in great shape with Ellis and the football side has never been in better hands with Elway at the controls.
The tributes and well wishes have all ready started to poor in and rightfully so but there’s only one tribute Mr. Bowlen wants; a third Vince Lombardi Trophy!
Take care of yourself Mr. Bowlen, we got your back!