We’ve been going easy on the Broncos over the past several days, given that the franchise currently is reeling in the wake of Spygate II and a clumsy case of dueling Pat Bowlen banjos regarding Josh McDaniels’ job status. But we can’t keep quiet on this one any longer.
Woody Paige of the Denver Post recently reported that former Broncos quarterback John Elway “would accept an offer to rejoin the Broncos in a full-time executive position.” Paige cites in support of his report an “impeccable source.”
In other words, Elway told him so.
It would be a huge mistake, in our view. Elway hasn’t worked as a scout, grinding away by riding puddle jumpers to backwoods colleges in search of low-round draft picks. He doesn’t know what to look for in a lineman or a linebacker or a defensive back or any other player, except maybe a quarterback. (Maybe.) He hasn’t officially worked in any capacity for a football team, other than as a player.
And so putting him in charge of football operations would be nearly as foolish as giving the job to, say, Woody Paige. The only difference in the skill set is that Elway has played the game. Actually, Paige would potentially be more qualified, because he would be more inclined to acknowledge the limits of his knowledge -- Elway would assume that his ability to throw the ball naturally translates into an ability to run the show.
We’ve seen this routine before. Dan Marino tried to do it in Miami, until he realized that running the team actually requires, you know, work. So after a week or two of reviewing the Penske file, Marino called it quits.
Elway is no different in this regard than Marino. Despite being one of the greatest players of all time, Elway isn’t suited to do any better than the current regime, which frankly isn’t doing very well.