Milestone No. 17: John Elway joins the Broncos front office to right the ship
Mar 20, 2025, 4:00 AM
The Fan is turning 30! For three decades, the station has been covering Denver sports, serving as a media outlet of record for the biggest events over the past 30 years.
There have been a lot of them. From championships to MVPs, from historic seasons to improbable victories, The Fan has been there for all of them.
What were the best of the best? During a six week span, Denver Sports will chronicle the moments that stood out the most. It’s a countdown from No. 30 to No. 1, in a series called “Mile High Milestones.”
Enjoy the trip down memory lane!
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Things were bad in Broncos Country. Really bad.
They were coming off a 4-12 campaign in 2010. That was the fewest wins the franchise had posted in a season since 1971. It was the most losses in the team’s history.
And that was just the start of the problems. Josh McDaniels had wreaked havoc on the organization, running off front office personnel and generally destroying the culture at Dove Valley.
A once-proud franchise was on the ropes. And Pat Bowlen knew it.
The future Hall of Fame owner had to make a bold move. He had to do something that could right the ship in a hurry. And he knew just who to turn to.
During his 16-year playing career, John Elway proved to be a winner. When he retired, he was the winningest QB in NFL history with 148 victories. He led the Broncos to five Super Bowls and rode off into the sunset with back-to-back titles.
After he hung up his cleats, Elway proved equally adept as an executive. He ran the Colorado Crush from 2003-08, building a team that won the Arena Football League championship in 2005.
Those resume highlights were all Bowlen needed. He was determined to bring the greatest player in franchise history back into the fold, making No. 7 a Bronco again after more than a decade after his career ended.
On January 5, 2011, Bowlen introduced Elway as the team’s executive vice president of football operations. He would be tasked with cleaning up the mess left by McDaniels, building a winner once again in Denver.
It didn’t take long.
His first draft choice was a big one, as the Broncos were picking No. 2 overall. It’s the highest selection they’ve ever had. And Elway didn’t miss.
He selected Von Miller out of Texas A&M. The edge rusher would go on to become the greatest defensive player in franchise history, leading the team in career sacks with 110.5. He also was the signature member of the Super Bowl 50 team, winning MPV honors in that game.
On the field, things took an immediate turn toward the positive, as well.
During his first season at the helm, the Broncos became one of the biggest stories in sports. Riding the magic of quarterback Tim Tebow, Denver managed to finish the season 8-8, finish atop the AFC West and win one of the most-memorable playoff games of all-time, when Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas for an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime against the Steelers.
The good times were just beginning. That offseason, Elway pulled off one of the biggest coups in NFL history when he lured free agent Peyton Manning to Denver. The future Hall of Fame quarterback had plenty of suitors, but No. 7 was able to close the deal.
That signing led to arguably the greatest four-year run in franchise history. During the Manning era, the Broncos would post a 50-14 regular season record, win the AFC West four times, advance to two Super Bowls and hoist the Lombardi Trophy after the 2015 season.
Elway built arguably the greatest offense ever seen in pro football. Denver scored an NFL record 606 points in 2013, with Manning throwing for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns. All three of those marks are still NFL records.
Two years later, he had built one of the best defenses of all-time. The Broncos finished the 2015 season ranked No. 1 in total yards, passing yards and sacks. With Von Miller and Demarcus Ware upfront, and the “No Fly Zone” in the secondary, Wade Phillips’ crew was hard to beat. They held 10 opponents to 20 points or less in the regular season, something they did in all three playoff victories, as well, culminating with a 24-10 victory in Super Bowl 50 against league MVP Cam Newton and the Panthers.
The next five years of Elway’s tenure at the helm wasn’t nearly as good. The seemingly never-ending search for Manning’s replacement plagued the franchise, as did an inability to find a suitable replacement for Gary Kubiak when the head coach retired after the 2016 campaign. From 2016-20, the Broncos would post just a 32-48 record.
But that doesn’t diminish what Elway did during his first half decade on the job. He took over a franchise that was quickly spiraling down the drain and turned things around immediately. He restored hope, brought excitement back to Empower Field and turned the Broncos back into a winner.
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THE COUNTDOWN
30: Ubaldo Jimenez has a magical season
29: Todd Helton get enshrined in Cooperstown
28: Valeri Nichushkin goes missing in the postseason – twice!
27: The Avalanche win their second Stanley Cup
26: The Nuggets come back from two 3-1 deficits in the bubble
25: The seemingly never-ending Broncos ownership saga
24: Hurricane Josh hits the Mile High City
23: The Rockies trade Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals
22: The Nuggets reach the Western Conference Finals in 2009
21: John Elway gets enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
20: The Avalanche hoist third Stanley Cup in franchise history
19: The Avalanche acquire Patrick Roy from the Canadiens
18: The Broncos produce the greatest offensive season in NFL history
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Wanna hear more about this Mile High Milestone? Tune into “The Rundown” at noon or check out the show on YouTube to hear Richie Carni and a special guest take a walk down memory lane.
