PALM BEACH, Fla. — Head coach … check.
Franchise quarterback … check.
Only one major item remains on the Broncos’ offseason to-do list: find a new owner.
And unlike the clear, turquoise-and-blue water that was just a long pass from Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis as he answered questions Monday, the identity of the new owner — or ownership group — of the Broncos remains murky. Beyond the fact that the managing partner must individually control 30 percent of the club, there are myriad aspects of the sale that must be worked out in the coming months.
But Ellis expects resolution in time for the start of the regular season.
“I really believe that we can have a new owner in place by that time. Don’t hold me to that as a guarantee,” Ellis said. “But I do think that’s a realistic timetable.”
Finding qualified candidates has not been a problem, Ellis said.
“There’s really a significant amount of interest from a number of very, very qualified bidders, in my opinion,” he said.
Ellis could not specify, for legal reasons. But what he confirmed is that Broncos brass and the banks facilitating the sale are meeting with prospective candidates, with all sides bound by confidentiality agreements.
“But I will say, I think it’s exciting for the fans,” Ellis said. “The team needs a new owner. It’s time for that.”
And specifically, the team needs an owner that is involved and engaged, a point this reporter made to Ellis when he answered questions from Denver-area media Monday.
“What you just said there is important to the membership inside here at our meetings, and I’ve had a few owners come up to me and say that,” he said. “We want a person that is going to be present, and is going to be engaged and not be distant from his or her franchise — be very visible, be very present, and those type of characteristics I think are important — and are being relayed to the prospective bidders.
“The bidders all understand that.”
What is also certain and understood is this: On the other side of the transition, Ellis’ time with the Broncos will end.
Last season was his 27th with the team in various roles, ranging from director of marketing for three years in the 1980s to the team’s CEO, a role he assumed in 2014 when Bowlen stepped away due to the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
“I will be a part of [the transition], in that I will just be there to introduce the new owners, effectively, to the organization,” Ellis said. “But someone’s going to replace me. I made that clear with the bankers and the prospective bidders that have called me and talked to me and things like that.”
And with that, a career in football that covered nearly 40 years in stints with the Broncos and the league office will end.
“I’ll miss the games; the games are the most fun,” Ellis said. “I’ll miss just learning about players — not from a football standpoint, but from their personal-life standpoint. Same with coaches. I’ll miss a lot of the relationships with the staff.
But there’s a lot that I won’t miss. And you know when it’s time. And it’s time to move on. Someone else needs to take over the team — whether it’s the new owner directly, or someone underneath him. I know moving on is absolutely the right thing to do, and I’ll take a little time to figure out what’s next.”
Part of what’s next will be simple: being a passionate — and occasionally frustrated — fan.
“Oh, yeah. I’ll have tickets. I’ll be there. The things I’ll be saying about Hackett and George — I can’t wait,” he said with a smile.
“I’ll stay in Denver. I’ll never leave. Denver’s home; our kids grew up here and I won’t go work for another team. I’m orange and blue all the way. I do look forward to attending games. I haven’t figured out which jersey to buy. But we’ll see what happens.”
ELLIS HOPES PART OF HIS BRONCOS FANDOM TO COME will include seeing the team play a game outside of the United States.
On the heels of a team-organized outreach trip to Mexico City in recent days, Ellis reiterated the Broncos’ long-standing desire to play a game outside of the United States.
Playing in Mexico in 2022 is not a possibility; the Arizona Cardinals are the “home” team for a game this season at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, and the Broncos’ game against them is in Denver.
“Someday, we’d like to play down there. Sooner rather than later.”
The only potential spot for an overseas game this year is in London, if the Broncos’ game at Jacksonville this season is moved there.
“We’ll see if that becomes a possibility,” Ellis said. “I don’t know right now for sure, but I’ve expressed interest on behalf of the team.”
In future years, Munich is also a possible venue, as the Bavarian city joins London on the roster of cities that will host NFL games.
“I know Coach Hackett and George would be open to the possibility of playing in London or Munich,” Ellis said.
“Coach Hackett is bullish on it. George is bullish on it. Russell Wilson is bullish on it,” Ellis added a moment later, “so, we’re lobbying as hard as we can.”
Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis at the NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. on March 28, 2022. (PHOTO: ANDREW MASON)
ELLIS ALSO MADE his first public, non-statement comments on being named in the racial-discrimination lawsuit brought by Brian Flores, the former Miami Dolphins head coach who interviewed for the Broncos’ head-coaching job in January 2019.
Flores accused the Broncos of conducting a “sham interview,” alleging that the Broncos executives “showed up an hour late” to the interview and “looked completely disheveled, and it was obvious that they had [been] drinking heavily the night before.”
Ellis and John Elway — who was also named in the suit — denied the accusations in statements issued Feb. 1, and Ellis elaborated on this Monday.
“I was disappointed that my name got drug into it, because I remember the interview quite well: I remember being there early, driving down from Boston early in the morning to be there early and greeting him in the conference room. I could go to that hotel and show you where it was. I remember it very clearly,” Ellis said.
“Brian really was a compelling candidate and did a great job in his interview, talking about his background when he grew up in Brooklyn and went to a private high school and then went on to Boston College, and all the various roles that he had with the Patriots in personnel and then he went over to special teams and then offense and then went over to defense. I mean, he was a really well-rounded candidate, and he talked about his own philosophy and what it would mean, and it wasn’t a shill interview, as far as I was concerned. I thought it was a great interview, and I enjoyed it.”
Their communication didn’t end with the interview process, Ellis said.
“I’ve had some subsequent texts with [Flores] over the time, congratulating him on big wins and things like that, so, to get dragged into it, I don’t know that it was Brian’s idea,” he said.
“You know, we’ll just leave it at that. It’s disappointing.”
