The Denver Broncos have yet to make a decision about who will be the next general manager to lead this team into the next era. A week away from John Elway relinquishing GM duties to take on an “ elevated ” front office role, the Broncos held five interviews for the position.
One candidate has already pulled out after an interview – Dave Ziegler from New England – who is leaving Brian Stark’s internal option and the three outside contenders vying for the job – starting with Minnesota-based George Paton, New Orleans’ Terry Fontenot and Champ Kelly in Chicago. None of the candidates interviewed has GM experience, although Paton has been closest to the “big chair” to quote 9 NEWSinsider Mike Klis.
Burdock joined The ride on 104.3.2016 The ventilator on Monday evening to provide an update on the state of the Broncos’ pursuit of Elway’s successor. One of the choice topics discussed in Klis’s conversation with hosts Darren McKee and Tyler Polumbus was the respective opinion each GM candidate had of Drew Lock during the interview process with Elway, CEO Joe Ellis, head coach Vic Fangio and Chief Communications Officer Patrick Smyth.
Turns out, each candidate had a different take on the direction the Broncos would take at the quarterback in case they got the job. Klis compensated himself by saying that he was “unaware of all that” and that he did not know exactly what was “discussed” as he dropped this nugget in the next beat.
“I don’t really know about that,” Klis said to McKee and Polumbus. ‘I know it was discussed. There were opinions across the board from, ‘If you have the chance to get a top-tier quarterback, you should try’, to ‘There’s no one out there in free agency or [via] trade that gets better than Drew Lock, [so] you have to take him out of the way ‘, to’ give him more time, you have invested so much time. You’re better off with him and let’s get a good quality veteran in case he slips. And I’m not sure who was with whom based on those opinions. “
(Listen to the clip at 35:00)
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In summary, there were three views, but two of them would keep Lock as the starter just under different conditions. One candidate would do anything to get a “top-tier” QB in the NFL draft. Another candidate would stay with Lock as The Guy in 2021, mainly because of the investment the team has already made in him and due to a lack of viable options in the free agent and trade market, while the latter would stay with Lock but remain against him decline by signing a skilled veteran backup.
We have no way of knowing which candidate claimed which outlook, but the takeaway is that of the three options, only one would look to the concept for an immediate upgrade / replacement of Lock. Fans will no doubt try to theorize and speculate about which candidate said what, but for now, only a handful of people know the answers: the candidates themselves and the Broncos recruitment committee. There’s a chance Klis knows which candidate said what, but he’s not going to spill those beans on the airwaves.
Elway, as president of football operations, will want to be “consulted” on any “big” decisions the next GM will make. What qualifies as “big”? Klis offered additional insight into his insightful conversation with The ride.
“A quarterback decision would be ‘big’ if you give up Drew Lock and bring in Matthew Stafford,” Klis told McKee and Polumbus. And John will not make the final decision on that. He’ll just say, ‘Look, I understand you want Stafford. Personally, I think if you give him a little more time, Drew Lock could benefit the Broncos. That’s why I love Drew Lock, he’s two years old [in] but he really only had one year of development with the time he missed as a rookie from injury and the time he missed in the second year because there were no OTAs and preseason. So he could make that argument. Otherwise, he steps aside. I don’t think he will be involved with Justin Simmons. I don’t think he will be involved with Von Miller. ‘
Another common theme among these GM candidates, according to Klis, was the priority of getting Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons to re-sign. And while Broncos Country may not want to hear it, none of the candidates seemed likely to get Von Miller back for the last year of his contract at the current cost of $ 17.5 million, although the first push would be to try to negotiating a restructuring – whatever that looks like.
“All of these GMs, while interviewing, almost all tried to say, ‘Try to get Justin Simmons – Justin Simmons must be a priority to get him back.’ Figuring out how to get Justin Simmons back, ”Klis continued The ride. And Von, the feeling was, ‘Try to bring him back for a – see if we can make a new contract’ type of deal. You can’t bring him back for $ 18 (million). But I like that how many all thought GMs about those two players. ”
These are the momentous decisions that the Broncos’ new GM will gaze through when hired; Lock, Simmons and Miller. For now, Paton appears to be the favorite to get the job, but as Klis said on Monday, he’s very “picky” when it comes to finding the right person for his first chance at becoming GM.
Paton and Kelly could start immediately if an agreement was reached, while the Broncos at Fontenot would have to wait for the Saints to either bounce back from the playoffs or past the Super Bowl, whichever came first. Klis floated the possibility that the Broncos would view Kelly as the “second in command” ideally, not the actual GM hire, which opens up a whole new can of worms.
But remember, the Broncos aren’t just filling Elway’s former job as GM – they’re looking to replace Matt Russell and hire a new director of player staff. That would require two new employees in the front office. If Paton proves to be overpriced or picky, and the Saints continue to succeed in the playoffs, Klis could envision a “second wave” of GM interviews in Dove Valley.
“If they don’t get Paton and Fontenot is in the playoffs and they can’t get him for a while, and they might want Champ as second in command, but maybe not the first, then I think they can do it there. open backup, ”Klis said to McKee and Polumbus.
As a second wave unfolds, keep an eye out for ex-Houston Texans GM Rick Smith and ex-Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff. Both have GM experience and Smith has a working relationship with the Broncos on his NFL resume.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @BuienRadarNL.