His voice hoarse and eyes tired, John Elway leaned into a microphone to relive a night of disappointment. Less than 48 hours had passed since his Broncos, then owners of the league’s most prolific offense, were blown out by the Seahawks and their “Legion of Boom” defense in Super Bowl XLVIII.
What was supposed to be an afternoon of celebration instead was the start of many painful and bittersweet weeks — bitter from the loss and sweet from the record-shattering journey there. Elway knew the feeling well, having been to five Super Bowls as a player, losing his first three before experiencing the thrill of victory in 1997 and again in ’98.
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The bad ones linger. Still.
“I’m not over them yet,” he said that day in February 2014. “I just add this one to it.”
But the angst gave way to optimism over the next six weeks as Elway began to remake the Broncos in free agency, turning the offense-first club into a defensive stalwart. Armed with cap space and a star quarterback, he set out to find an “edge” that offseason, along with an answer to an elite defense like Seattle’s. He acquired both and altered the identity of the Broncos for years to come.
When the market opened, Elway opened the Broncos’ checkbook, signing three defensive starters and another weapon for Peyton Manning. Safety T.J. Ward was acquired first, then cornerback Aqib Talib, then veteran pass rusher DeMarcus Ware. Receiver Emmanuel Sanders took the final chunk of the $124.5 million shopping spree that led to a win in Super Bowl 50 two years later.
“With Peyton, we were really good on offense,” Elway said in 2016. “But the thing I’m proud of is since I got here is we concentrated on the defensive side.”
The fall from Super Bowl 50 has been swift and steep for the Broncos, but Elway’s most successful offseason five years ago still provides reassurance and lessons to draw from as he begins what is arguably his most important offseason to date. Elway remains driven to fix what has become broken in Denver, and while most eyes are on an offense that has lagged, reviving the defense remains just as important to Elway.
Maybe even more.
The numbers are staggering and paint a picture of two very different periods in the Elway era.
In Elway’s first 100 games as an executive, the Broncos went 71-29 (.710), winning five consecutive AFC West championships, appearing in two Super Bowls and winning one. Elway’s 71 total wins are believed to be the most by any NFL team’s general manager through his first 100 overall games.
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The Broncos have gone 13-25 (.342) since, with consecutive losing seasons and zero playoff appearances. In that span, which includes the end of 2016, the Broncos had two different head coaches (they’re now onto their third), three different offensive coordinators and four different starting quarterbacks.
Manning is so often pointed to as the common denominator, and rightfully so. He changed the course of the franchise when he signed in 2012 and again when he retired in 2016. The Broncos, still searching for his true successor, are banking on Joe Flacco being at least their bridge to the future.
But Elway, the Hall of Fame quarterback who is often criticized for his evaluation of quarterbacks, has found more success on the defensive side. He lost a Super Bowl with one of the NFL’s greatest offenses, only to return two years later and win it with one of the NFL’s top defenses, led by coordinator Wade Phillips. Denver’s defense led or ranked among the top five in passing defense for three consecutive years. And Elway’s pride in the defense, in part, sold him on his latest head coach — a coach with similarities to Phillips whom Elway believes can right the ship.
“The key piece was adding Vic (Fangio),” Elway said last week. “His history and the success he’s had as a coordinator, that was step No. 1. I got a feel for what he wants on the defensive side because to win a championship you got to be great on one side of the ball. We won it with defense the last time. I think Vic gives us a good opportunity to get back defensively. And with the staff he’s put together offensively, hopefully, we can improve a lot over the last couple of years.”
To Elway, the second key piece for the defense was the trade for Flacco, a veteran quarterback he believes can not only steady the offense but afford them flexibility in building up a unit that has many holes. The secondary that was once the backbone of the defense needs significant help behind starting cornerback Chris Harris Jr. (Harris’ agent met with the Broncos at the combine, but any significant progress on an extension will likely have to wait until the team has a clearer picture of their financial situation for this year and next.) The defensive line that figures to lose Domata Peko needs depth and an infusion of youth. The linebacking corps that is expected to lose Brandon Marshall needs that rare three-down back with enough speed and power to shut down running backs and tight ends alike.
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When the free-agency negotiation period begins in a week, the Broncos figure to be players on the market, even though their cap space will be modest once the Flacco deal becomes official. Elway has said he tries to fill the team’s biggest voids in free agency so they don’t enter the draft with glaring needs. But when April does roll around, don’t be surprised if Elway plucks another defensive player with his top pick. He has taken a defender first in six of his eight drafts, and the class of 2019 is loaded with pass-rushing and defensive-line talent and features a linebacking group that showed out at the combine.
Devin White, regarded as the top inside linebacker in the 2019 draft, ran a blistering 4.42-second 40-yard dash that left him in tears on the sideline. When asked about the prospect of playing in Denver, the eyes of the 6-foot, 237-pound star from LSU lit up.
“Man, it would be great from a football standpoint just knowing that they’ve got Bradley Chubb on one side and the GOAT, Von Miller, on one side,” White said. “So a lot of people wouldn’t be keyed in on me and I’m going to be the sneaky player that’s going to making a lot of plays in the middle. That would be a great fit.”
Elway was lauded for the 2018 draft before his selections even arrived in Denver. When so many thought he would take a quarterback at No. 5, he instead snagged the best defensive player on the board in Chubb.
On paper, Elway’s 10 selections and his signings from the pool of college free agents that year were wholly unlike those of the previous two, when he chased good athletes instead of proven football players with records of captainship.
“We had a good draft,” Elway said. “I’m sure we’ll lean that way again this year.”
For the most part, the class of 2018 lived up to its billing, despite injuries across the roster and a disappointing 6-10 finish. But its success will ultimately be dependent on their contributions in Year Two, when the Broncos more than ever need them to make a leap from newcomers to regular contributors.
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Elway’s legacy, however, will be dependent on much more. In an odd reversal, the contributions of Elway’s free-agent signings paled in comparison to his draft picks last year. The man who admitted he’s not done “swinging and missing” needs a home run in 2019, both in the draft and free agency. The Broncos need to rediscover that edge that Elway found in 2014 — a mentality shift that may start with Fangio’s “death by inches” coaching philosophy.
“It’s not about the glitz and the glamour and what somebody does on the offensive side,” Elway said. “I think it’s about getting the foundation right, especially for us. That’s our fit. Again, all of the other coaches that got hired are great coaches, but what was best for us was that we needed to start at the ground again and build up.”
For years, the Broncos set the benchmark in the AFC West, but the resurgence of the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have left Denver playing catch-up. The road back to playoff contention, Elway has said, starts in the division.
But maybe, just as it did in 2014, it all starts with the defense.
“I don’t like to lose,” Elway said. “It’s a goal of mine to get it fixed and get it back to where it should be. I feel like that’s my responsibility. I enjoy that challenge.”
(Photo of Aqib Talib, left, Von Miller, center, and T.J. Ward after the Broncos won Super Bowl 50: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)