What Would Pat Bowlen Do?

[GiddyupGetEm]

Pat Bowlen was the soul of this organization he owned for 35 years. He not only was the owner, he also was a brilliant innovator for NFL growth and was a bedrock of our Colorado community. And his battle with Alzheimer’s and passing was a heart wrenching saga which still inspires us fans.

Looking at a team that is about to be 2-5, missed the playoffs for (soon to be) five straight seasons, losing its prestige, and showing little tangible promise of future turnaround, every Bronco fan must ask: what would Pat Bowlen do?

I didn’t know the man. I only know what we all saw publicly. He set a standard of greatness for this team, and the past five years, the Broncos have unequivocally not met that standard.

I can give one example that might enlighten us as to how he would approach the situation. In 2008, after two consecutive 8-8 seasons, Pat Bowlen fired a two-time Super Bowl winning head coach, who in 14 years, had only two losing seasons. Mike Shanahan, for all his Xs and Os excellence, had failed to meet the Bowlen standard.

Pat Bowlen had the courage to make the right decision for the organization, even though it came at the cost of a legendary Broncos coach.

Shanahan had two losing seasons in 14 years. Elway is on his way to four straight.

I believe Pat Bowlen would have had the courage to do the right thing for the organization and fire John Elway, either now or after this season. All elements of the team are struggling, and when that happens, the man who assembled the team and coaching staff must be held accountable.

For the legacy of Pat Bowlen and the best interest of the Denver Broncos, it is time to fire John Elway.

[Oxygen Bandit]

Pat Bowlen would never fire John Elway. Why would he? This fire people mentality is exactly what we don't need in my opinion. This season was pretty much a bust from the get go when we had so many key players injured. I am as disappointed as anyone with the way the season has turned out but firing people is not the answer.

[GiddyupGetEm]

Pat Bowlen would never fire John Elway. Why would he? This fire people mentality is exactly what we don't need in my opinion. This season was pretty much a bust from the get go when we had so many key players injured. I am as disappointed as anyone with the way the season has turned out but firing people is not the answer.

Injuries alone don’t excuse Drew Lock with one touchdown pass this year. We are 90% sure Lock isn’t our franchise QB. In that case, Elway has bet the house on Paxton Lynch and Drew Lock. Those two busts alone are fireable.

[JakeNbake]

He'd probably watch the rest of the game.

[dbfansincefeb87]

not trying to troll and i'm sure he was a nice guy and did work for charity etc but i don't know what bronco fans going back to the 80's and earlier really see in pat bowlen , he kept dan reeves for wayyy too long , reeves was hc for 12 years and should have been fired after the joke of a super bowl vs the redskins .

[flosstein]

Pat Bowlen would never fire John Elway. Why would he? This fire people mentality is exactly what we don't need in my opinion. This season was pretty much a bust from the get go when we had so many key players injured. I am as disappointed as anyone with the way the season has turned out but firing people is not the answer.

I disagree. Firing people that perform poorly at their jobs is a necessary action. Now firing someone too soon is something that can be discussed. But in the 5 years post-SB, we’ve sunk to the bottom of the league and he’s done everything to put us there, not pull us out. Bad drafts, bad FA signings, and bad HC choices. Every issue with personnel is on him. So the fact that Bruce Allen was finally released, means that there’s hope for change. As there’s not a GM in the league that would still be employed with his record the last 5 years.

Now if we want to discuss that if Bowlen were in his 1998-2000 state of well being, I would say that many of the decisions that Ellis has been empowered to make would not have happened. I think that we would’ve hired Baby Shanny and Pappa Shanny and Kubes would still be in the organization.

[beastlyskronk]

If you believe the rumors, Bowlen was talked into firing Shanahan as well as trading Cutler. Given his track record, he was extremely loyal so I don’t believe he’s fire anyone.

[flosstein]

If you believe the rumors, Bowlen was talked into firing Shanahan as well as trading Cutler. Given his track record, he was extremely loyal so I don’t believe he’s fire anyone.

That's exactly why I referenced 1998-2000 state of well being. By the time Shanny was fired, the reports of dementia had started trickling in. And Ellis was holding major power at that time. The firing of Shanny and trading of Cutler was a clear Ellis move.

I think the relationship between he and Elway would've made it interesting and he may have made Elway hire a GM and just maintain role as VP of player personnel. Thus not having to fire Elway, and actively forcing a correction that is so desperately needed.

[Hadez]

Back in the 90s and 80s we had really good defenses that would get us to the Super Bowl where our team would be exposed as a team with talent on defense....talent at QB and average or below average at all the other offensive spots. Do not get me wrong we had some guys with courage of lions who would fight their butts off on those offenses....it is why we got to the Super Bowls we lost. It is very difficult to beat 3 really good teams in a row with teams that flawed.

What did Pat do...he lead the charge in us giving up a lot of draft picks to get a great OT in Gary Zimmerman. He also went out his way...maybe even broke league rules...to get the coach he and his franchise QB wanted. One of the many key moves made were trading for Tony Jones, signing Stink...and getting a good OL coach.

I think if Pat were still around he would have pushed for us to trade for a really good OL player...,maybe two. Even if we had to pay the same price we paid to get Zim.

[GiddyupGetEm]

You cannot objectively looks at this organization—players, coaches, personnel staff—and say major changes are not necessary.

it is undeniable they are collapsing into long-term awfulness.

This leaves one question: is Elway at all responsible? The answer is unequivocally yes. Elway failed as a GM, and the team is suffering as a result.

Firing Elway is necessary. It is necessary to dismiss a failed GM, and it is necessary to reset the organization.

[mozzerpete]

Pat Bowlen would turn to Elway and say, "Do whatever it takes, John."

Cue the Trump meme firing Ellis.

[Oxygen Bandit]

Firing people for not doing there job we would have to fire the complete Denver team lol.

[-Rod-]

I haven't heard anything about Elway getting another extension, so hopefully 2021 will be his last season in charge. It's time for him to go. He's already earned his firing at this point, but I doubt Ellis will do it. By the way, Ellis probably is the main villian. Ellis and the trust are the ones keeping the Broncos dysfunctional without an owner for too much time. No ownership, no accountability for the team president or the general manager. It's easy to let Rick Dennison go, to fire Mike McCoy, Bill Musgrave, Rich Scangarello and now potentially Pat Shurmur and continue to fail as the football administrator when there isn't an owner at the top. Pat Bowlen fired Mike Shanahan. Who knows what Pat would have done to Elway if he were witnessing the worst era of Broncos football since the 60's. It's going to be 4 straight losing seasons.

[GiddyupGetEm]

I haven't heard anything about Elway getting another extension, so hopefully 2021 will be his last season in charge. It's time for him to go. He's already earned his firing at this point, but I doubt Ellis will do it. By the way, Ellis probably is the main villian. Ellis and the trust are the ones keeping the Broncos dysfunctional without an owner for too much time. No ownership, no accountability for the team president or the general manager. It's easy to let Rick Dennison go, to fire Mike McCoy, Bill Musgrave, Rich Scangarello and now potentially Pat Shurmur and continue to fail as the football administrator when there isn't an owner at the top. Pat Bowlen fired Mike Shanahan. Who knows what Pat would have done to Elway if he were witnessing the worst era of Broncos football since the 60's. It's going to be 4 straight losing seasons.

I cannot endure another year of this!

[GMTD]

If you believe the rumors, Bowlen was talked into firing Shanahan as well as trading Cutler. Given his track record, he was extremely loyal so I don’t believe he’s fire anyone.

Firing Elway, maybe not. But I doubt Ellis and/or Matt Russell would still be around..