Meanwhile, the Broncos hired former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to replace Mike Shanahan-- who coached the Broncos for over a decade-- as head coach. McDaniels got off to a fast start, winning the first six games of his career. Then it went downhill from there. The nail in the coffin was when he tried to pull the same tactic as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. The difference is, McDaniels still lost the game. That's ridiculous; that's like pulling a sneak attack on someone, and still getting your a** whipped.
Thankfully, the plug was finally pulled on him. Since then, he has been the then-St. Louis Rams OC, and is currently back with the Patriots. They can keep him. He single-handedly desecrated the house Elway built.
2011: Re-Enter John Elway. John Elway was back in the saddle in Denver, this time as an executive, accepting the position as Executive Vice President of football operations. He was back to rebuild his house. The following season, he assumed the role of General Manager after the departure of Brian Xanders, giving him complete control of football operations.
Since then, the Broncos went on to win four division titles, made two AFC Championship appearances, and two Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl 50. He has rebuilt his house that was reduced to freaking rubble after he left. In total, he has guided Denver to four division titles, eight AFC Championships (six as a player), seven Super Bowls (five as a player), winning three of them (two as a player). Of course, I'm expecting these numbers to increase as he continues his run as EVP/GM. There's a great debate within me on which version of him I like more: John Elway the QB, or John Elway the EVP/GM.
I don't know. I'm torn, but I believe I'll lean slightly towards John Elway the EVP/GM. It's giving me an opportunity to get to know him from the outside looking in, and how he thinks and operates, to see his ability to wheel-and-deal. It didn't take long for me to witness his power of persuasion. When Peyton Manning become available in 2011, the reaction was in a fashion similar to the most popular girl in school being dumped. Nearly everyone was after him. Honestly, I said to myself that it would be sweet if Denver targeted him-- I wasn't sold on Tim Tebow at all-- but I wasn't expecting them to actually be in the running, especially with Tennessee (where Peyton played during his collegiate career), being one of the front runners.
Although I was still holding a glimpse of hope, I thought Tennessee had the best chance of sealing the deal. They one of the best running backs at the time in Chris Johnson, a good receiving corps, and they were going to put in his contract a guaranteed position on the staff after he retired. Somehow, in typical Elway-esque, clutch fashion, he reeled in one of the greatest free agents to ever hit the market.
He has a willingness to adapt, which is key to success in nearly anything. He put together the pieces of a high-powered offense; they ran roughshod and shattered records during that time, only to get demolished in SB 48 against the Seattle Seahawks. Man, I want those bastards in a rematch, but I digress. He retooled and built perhaps the greatest defense ever assembled.
I've seen great defenses in my time (e.g. the 2000 Ravens, 2002 Buccaneers, 2014 Seahawks), but in all of my years of watching football, I've never seen a defense as destructive as the 2015 Broncos. They single-handedly won games, and made the game's top quarterbacks look like sh*t throughout the course of the season. I've never seen any team terrorize Tom Brady the way they did in the AFC Championship game. I believe they saved their best for Cam Newton and the Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
They took a slight step back last season; the pass defense was still tops, but the run defense was deplorable. So far this off-season, he has revamped the defensive line, bringing in an underrated prospect in Domata Peko, and Zach Kerr, a massive, versatile DL, with a lot of potential. More on the acquisitions in another blog. With the draft and the remainder of free agency, I'm sure Elway's not done.
I also noticed that he won't break the bank to get anyone, either, which brings me to one of the major things that I respect about him: he won't nut up. He's aggressive and not afraid to go after players to accomplish the mission, but he's also smart and thorough, and won't give up the farm to bring in or secure players.
I don't want to emulate others, but I consider myself to be resourceful. If there's a quality (or qualities) that I see in someone, and I find it applicable, I'll apply it to my own approach. From his clutch, never-say-die attitude and approach as a QB, to his calculating, aggressive, but shrewd prowess as an executive, there's definitely some things I'm learning from "No. 7 with the orange shirt."
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