ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It’s no secret the Denver Broncos wanted to change the dynamic in their organization, specifically their locker room, this offseason.
It started less than 24 hours after the season ended as President and CEO Joe Ellis—a man typically donning a pleasant smile—addressed the media hunched over, at a loss of words after the team’s worst season in eight years.
“A characteristic that kind of seeped into our building a little bit, both of our buildings [UCHealth Training Center and Sports Authority Field at Mile High] maybe. I sent a letter out this morning to our [fan] database and to our season-ticket members—about 22,000 of the them—and I [said] expectations are fine. We should always have them, but we shouldn’t make assumptions. I feel like there are times where I just get a sense that as an organization maybe we’re looking at a slogan on the wall, three [Lombardi] trophies in the locker room or Super Bowl banners at the stadium facing our audience. We kind of assume that is the way it’s going to be. If I let that creep into the organization, then I am the one that has to stop that mindset. I talked to John [Elway] about it. I talked to Vance [Joseph] about it. They understand. We had good discussions. I’m going to talk to a lot of people in the organization about it in the next month. I feel responsible that I allowed that. I’m not saying it’s widespread, but if it is in there— and my sense is that at times it became that way—that needs to stop. I’m in charge of that.”
And boy did the President and CEO take matters into his own hands. By the next time John Elway addressed the media in the Mile High City, No. 7 touched on this aspect unprompted.
“We know that locker room is something that we’ve got to continue to work on,” Elway slyly mentioned amidst a 285-word answer about the connection between Case Keenum and Gary Kubiak.
Then, after a draft in which Denver nearly batted 1.000 in selecting former team captains, Elway admitted bringing in high-quality people was an “emphasis” during the draft and his actions in the three days before spoke louder than his words.
But just exactly what “characteristic” Ellis was talking about and exactly what Elway meant by working on the locker room wasn’t precisely nailed down.
However, new wide receiver and second-round pick, Courtland Sutton, did a mighty fine job taking a shot at what this was.
Despite having a total of zero NFL practices under his belt, the young, yet mature, man from Texas gave an answer to the question that hit at the root of exactly what Denver is looking for in terms of a culture change.
“I understand the importance of you can’t come in and expect that just because you’re a draft pick or just because you came in at a certain level, you can’t come in on your high horse with the ‘You owe me something’ attitude—you can’t do that,” Sutton said, describing entitlement. “Even coming into college, even coming when I got to the level I got to in college where guys knew who I was—to be a servant leader, you got to humble yourself, and you’ve got to look at things through a different perspective.”
“At this level, it’s a little different because you do have the older vets, but coming from the college level, what made us so strong, so gelled together was that everyone was able to keep everybody else in check. Even if an older guy was doing something that he wasn’t supposed to do, a younger guy would come and say, ‘Hey, we have to get this together so we can all still be going in the same direction.’ That’s something you have to be able to have when you’re leaders, servant leaders, and they’re able to understand the vibe of everyone around even from the younger guys. I think that’s when the team starts to gel the best and that’s when you get that unity, and that’s when things start really flowing together.”
Talk is great, but actions are what truly matter. In fact, Courtland even had an example of just exactly what this looks like in action.
“If a freshman came up to me and said ‘Hey Court, I think you could have went a little harder on this rub.’ Say no more. I need to go harder,” he said with passion seeping out of his pores. “If I feel like if somebody sees something—I feel like the way a team grows best and they’re able to unify and go in the right direction, you can’t have it.”
Along with entitlement, what the man wise beyond his years described was complacency—a word Ellis didn’t specifically say, but all but described in what was starting to seep into the organization.
“One thing that we learned last year when we were 5-11, when you’re in a losing streak, you need that maturity and that leadership to get things turned around. These players have that ability, and they have that maturity level,” Elway said about the new rookie draft class. “I’m not trying to say that we weren’t mature, but I’m just saying that you need guys that when you’re going through a tough time, they’ll be able to be mentally tough and get things turned around. That’s why we decided to go more in that direction, to say that if things got tough for a couple weeks, we’ve got to get things turned around.”
Fortunately for the entire organization, from the new rookie class up to Mr. Ellis, Courtland is just one of 10 drafted rookies that share this mindset and encompass a high-level of leadership.
“It is a mature group. There are lots of seniors in the group, so we’re excited about that maturity level. All of them are that way,” Elway proudly said about his draft class. “One thing we wanted to do going into this draft was get quality football players but also quality people, and that was an emphasis—to have that maturity level.”
The question that sparked Courtland’s in-depth answer was about a growing disconnect between younger players and veterans in the locker room the past two seasons, a gap between millennials and Super Bowl 50 veterans.
“When everyone understands we all want the same goal—the ultimate goal at the NFL level is to win a Super Bowl—when everyone understands that, and they put all of the other stuff to the side and they say ‘No matter what, I’m putting my feelings to the side and we are going to all go in the same direction,’ I think that’s when everything flows the best, and that’s when you start seeing the success happen.”
When Elway said the team drafted a “mature” group, he wasn’t kidding. In fact, he was probably imagining the 22-year-old from SMU.
Talent is great, but it’s no secret there’s been a heavy emphasis on changing the dynamic inside the organization and locker room this offseason.
After the draft, from a man who is new to the team, it became clear exactly what that seismic shift was.
