Should John Elway be fired?

[colowoz]

Article from AP.....

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -- Money for nothing.

Broncos general manager John Elway made Ja'Wuan James the league's highest-paid right tackle with a four-year, $51 million gamble in free agency. Then, he committed another $54 million in total contract value to DBs Kareem Jackson and Bryce Callahan.

All three are hurt.

All three were inactive Sunday when the Broncos (0-4) matched their worst start ever with a 26-24 loss to Jacksonville that saddled them with their second eight-game skid in the past three seasons.

Since beating Oakland on Oct. 1, 2017, the Broncos have gone 8-24, matching the Jets for the worst record in the league over that span.

Blame Denver's dismal drafts or the musical chairs at head coach or quarterback, but don't forget the Broncos' flops in free agency.

While it's certainly way too early to say if this latest class will fizzle like so many others of late, none of the newcomers have had dazzling Denver debuts.

James (knee) missed major portions of the season with injuries in two of the past four years, so it's no surprise that he got hurt just 10 plays into the opener at Oakland.

Callahan (foot) thrived under Vic Fangio's tutelage in Chicago but he's been out since July and might not make it back until November, and Jackson pulled a hamstring in the rain at Green Bay two weeks ago and hasn't practiced since.

Throw in running back Theo Riddick, whom the Broncos grabbed for one year and $2.5 million in July only to see him knocked out with a shoulder injury in his first preseason action, and the run of tough luck only gets worse.

Is this BAD Luck or Bad management ? Chubb is lost for the year. This year is just a continuation of what has been brewing in Bronco land for years. Change is the only thing that may fix this.

[Southern Bronco]

I wouldn’t fire Elway- but I would create a new role over his and fill it with a respected, experienced football mind. Ideally someone with a ring in management himself (e.g. Casserly, Polian, etc.) and make Elway run his decisions through him (i.e. “So... tell me what you’re thinking on this one John?”). Either Elway would embrace it as the football “post-graduate” education he critically needs (after a lot of early success)- or he’ll resign on his own volition without us literally having to fire the greatest Bronco ever...

My pitch? “John- you’ve always done what’s best for the franchise. That’s why we love you, and would never want to fire you. That said- you’re 20-32 since SB 50 (11-25 since Kubiak left), and have had some significant misses in the Draft. You more than anybody know that’s not up to our elite standards. Let’s get you some help with all this. The franchise needs it...”, etc.

[mojo0730]

I wouldn’t fire Elway- but I would create a new role over his and fill it with a respected, experienced football mind. Ideally someone with a ring in management himself (e.g. Casserly, Polian, etc.) and make Elway run his decisions through him (i.e. “So... tell me what you’re thinking on this one John?”). Either Elway would embrace it as the football “post-graduate” education he critically needs (after a lot of early success)- or he’ll resign on his own volition without us literally having to fire the greatest Bronco ever...

My pitch? “John- you’ve always done what’s best for the franchise. That’s why we love you, and would never want to fire you. That said- you’re 20-32 since SB 50 (11-25 since Kubiak left), and have had some significant misses in the Draft. You more than anybody know that’s not up to our elite standards. Let’s get you some help with all this. The franchise needs it...”, etc.

Again, Elway had a role with this franchise in which he would have just been able to hire a full-fledged scouting department and managed the group. He had that in his first couple of years...and he got rid of it so he could take full control of all aspects of personnel.

Elway does not want a figurehead role. He wants to run an NFL franchise. If he can't do it as an owner, then he wants to do it in the capacity he has right now with the Broncos.

[beastlyskronk]

Again, Elway had a role with this franchise in which he would have just been able to hire a full-fledged scouting department and managed the group. He had that in his first couple of years...and he got rid of it so he could take full control of all aspects of personnel.

Elway does not want a figurehead role. He wants to run an NFL franchise. If he can't do it as an owner, then he wants to do it in the capacity he has right now with the Broncos.

That’s a financial decision, not an Elway decision. This team has routinely skimped on the staff and it all circles back to Joe Ellis who makes these types of decisions.

[Sam_Z]

Article from AP.....

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -- Money for nothing.

Broncos general manager John Elway made Ja'Wuan James the league's highest-paid right tackle with a four-year, $51 million gamble in free agency. Then, he committed another $54 million in total contract value to DBs Kareem Jackson and Bryce Callahan.

All three are hurt.

All three were inactive Sunday when the Broncos (0-4) matched their worst start ever with a 26-24 loss to Jacksonville that saddled them with their second eight-game skid in the past three seasons.

Since beating Oakland on Oct. 1, 2017, the Broncos have gone 8-24, matching the Jets for the worst record in the league over that span.

Blame Denver's dismal drafts or the musical chairs at head coach or quarterback, but don't forget the Broncos' flops in free agency.

While it's certainly way too early to say if this latest class will fizzle like so many others of late, none of the newcomers have had dazzling Denver debuts.

James (knee) missed major portions of the season with injuries in two of the past four years, so it's no surprise that he got hurt just 10 plays into the opener at Oakland.

Callahan (foot) thrived under Vic Fangio's tutelage in Chicago but he's been out since July and might not make it back until November, and Jackson pulled a hamstring in the rain at Green Bay two weeks ago and hasn't practiced since.

Throw in running back Theo Riddick, whom the Broncos grabbed for one year and $2.5 million in July only to see him knocked out with a shoulder injury in his first preseason action, and the run of tough luck only gets worse.

Is this BAD Luck or Bad management ? Chubb is lost for the year. This year is just a continuation of what has been brewing in Bronco land for years. Change is the only thing that may fix this.

Bad management because all of these guys were intended to be the cheaper option while in the end it didn’t work out that way.

Oh ya and they’re injury prone and Elway knew this going in.

[JvDub95]

Bad management because all of these guys were intended to be the cheaper option while in the end it didn’t work out that way.

Oh ya and they’re injury prone and Elway knew this going in.

These guys aren't injury prone, if that were the case every player in the league is injury prone. Guys get hurt, it's a rough sport.

[mojo0730]

That’s a financial decision, not an Elway decision. This team has routinely skimped on the staff and it all circles back to Joe Ellis who makes these types of decisions.

My point is Elway won't take a role where he's just the team mascot. He could have done that for years and didn't want to because he wants to be in control of the front office.

[dipablo]

I wouldn’t fire Elway- but I would create a new role over his and fill it with a respected, experienced football mind. Ideally someone with a ring in management himself (e.g. Casserly, Polian, etc.) and make Elway run his decisions through him (i.e. “So... tell me what you’re thinking on this one John?”). Either Elway would embrace it as the football “post-graduate” education he critically needs (after a lot of early success)- or he’ll resign on his own volition without us literally having to fire the greatest Bronco ever...

My pitch? “John- you’ve always done what’s best for the franchise. That’s why we love you, and would never want to fire you. That said- you’re 20-32 since SB 50 (11-25 since Kubiak left), and have had some significant misses in the Draft. You more than anybody know that’s not up to our elite standards. Let’s get you some help with all this. The franchise needs it...”, etc.

Wont happen until we have ownership. That is the key. we need strong ownership to hold Elway accountable. we are bad until then.

[broncos SB2010]

I don't think he should be fired but I think he needs to rethink how builds a team. I have been saying for years that his philosophy is backwards. He seems to like to like to build his team from the outside in instead of from the inside out.

By that, I mean that he gives players that are farthest from the ball the highest priority such as CB, OLB, OT. Players closest to the ball such as ILB, NT, OC, OG are the lowest priority. The team is very weak up the middle and it has been that way for years,

[Orangecrush21]

The last couple of drafts have been solid. That makes me think there is improvement coming. I think we should at least wait to see what we have in Drew Lock before tossing Elway

[dizzolve]

Wont happen until we have ownership. That is the key. we need strong ownership to hold Elway accountable. we are bad until then.

I really have to think there is something to this. I just know Pat Bowlen would have done SOMETHING to change the losing status quo

[theMileHighGuy]

Two names alone should cost the guy his job. Shaq Barrett and Devin Bush. One is about to be defensive player of the year, and the other was absolutely a DOG on monday night football. They should both be on our team.

[-Rod-]

Two names alone should cost the guy his job. Shaq Barrett and Devin Bush. One is about to be defensive player of the year, and the other was absolutely a DOG on monday night football. They should both be on our team.

I don't even blame Elway for the Shaq Barrett situation. Shaq said he wanted to be a starter, so he was interested in leaving even if the Broncos matched any offer. Paying $4 million for a backup OLB is not realistic and, even Elway offered that, Shaq would still take the offer from someone else that made him a starter during a prove-it deal. Also, he spent 5 seasons with the Broncos, played a lot of snaps during those 5 years and he never came close to producing the way he is now. Back in 2017, for example, he started 9 games, played in all 16 games and just got 4.0 sacks. Shaq never proved he deserved to be an unquestioned starter for the Broncos. No one, not even the Bucs, could have predicted he would become a sack machine all of a sudden. Look at the 1-year deal he signed, he already hit the sack incentives for the whole season. No one saw this coming.

Passing on Devin Bush is a bigger issue for the front office. However, it was reported during the draft that Fangio did not like Devin Bush enough to pass on the trade. If Fangio really wanted Bush, I believe Elway would have drafted him. Regardless, building the roster is Elway's ultimate responsibility, so he must live with the consequences if he listens to a coach over what the scouts have evaluated and it backfires. See: the report from Cecil Lammey speculating that Elway passed on Ramczyk because Mike McCoy was pounding the table for Bolles. I was actually surprised that the Broncos drafted Noah Fant because he's a soft receving TE like Julius Thomas that can't block anybody and had attitude issues with the Iowa coaching staff. As a receiver, he can make something happen if you don't ask him to make a touch catch in traffic, but as an in-line TE he is a terrible fit for this offense.

Beyond Shaq Barrett, beyond Devin Bush, the main reason why Elway's time is up is because he already served his purpose as a figure that came to invigorate the franchise after the McDaniels nightmare. Elway flashed after being able to sign Peyton Manning, but now the flash is long gone. It's time to make the transition to a more traditional and bigger front office with a GM that has an extensive scouting background like a Chris Ballard, John Dorsey, etc. Otherwise, the Broncos will keep falling behind. Unfortunately, Elway is more brawn than brain as an improvised GM and that's not what the franchise needs right now.

[GMTD]

The last couple of drafts have been solid. That makes me think there is improvement coming. I think we should at least wait to see what we have in Drew Lock before tossing Elway

I agree with this and certainly don't expect any big changes to happen until the end of the season. Ellis isn't going to fire Elway just like that.

[theMileHighGuy]

Can't disagree Rod, it just makes me real salty seeing Shaq ball out. Good for him though, he's gonna make a lot of money next year. I'm a pittsburgh pirates fan in baseball, so I'm already tired of seeing my team be a farm squad for the rest of the league.

I'll never understand the Fant pick, and at this point I don't care to.

I agree that our change needs to be big. A lot of people and a lot of input from different levels. Personally I think we're gonna be seeing a lot of the same for a good bit yet. :\