Did John Elway Make the Right Call?

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It's been a few days since John Fox and the Denver Broncos mutually agreed to part ways after a devastating loss in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, and a few days since John Elway explained why the Broncos felt the need to move in a different direction.  If you didn't get the chance to see Elway's press conference around this, here are the key things he spoke to. 

For one, Elway's biggest concern was the fact that the Denver Broncos seemed to have no fire or fight in them when it mattered most and of course that he and John Fox could not see eye to eye when it came to how to get Denver to the next level and win a Super Bowl.  Of all the things he spoke to, the first big thing that caught my attention was the fact that he said the team was missing that fire. It's a spot on assessment, and something I noticed a few times this season, where it just seems the squad was completely unprepared to play a football game. I just know this move has been heavily criticized by some, with people questioning the logic of making a change at Head Coach when the man took you to a Super Bowl.

To me, it's a bold move that rarely occurs in the league. There's no team that sets out to finish 8-8. They all want the trophy, they all want the prize. Yet some franchises don't seem to want it enough. Look at Cincinnati, four years in the playoffs, four exits in the first round. Does Marvin Lewis still have his job? Yup. Would he in Denver? Nope. I think this speaks volumes as to what Denver will stand for, nothing less than excellence, so quite frankly, John Elway made the right call in making a major change. Fox is a good coach, don't get me wrong, but he is not what Elway truly wants.  

Elway wants a fiery competitor, someone who will hold his players feet to the fire when they slack off on a play or don't play as hard as they can in general. He wants someone that understands you only get one shot to win in this league and you need to leave your best on the field, but most importantly...he wants a guy that endlessly prepares and has his squad ready for every little nuance of their opponent on the field.  With that in mind, did he make a mistake in hiring Fox in the first place? Absolutely not. Fox quickly washed away all the bad feelings and mojo that Josh McDaniels left in his wake and for that I thank him.  But it was clear in Super Bowl XLVIII that something was very wrong on the coaching side of the ball, after all, one of the best offenses in the history of the league, ended up looking like a junior varsity squad in the biggest game of the year.

Either way, I applaud Elway for making such a bold move and sending a message to the league about how Denver will conduct its business. Every year will be a Super Bowl or bust and quite frankly, if there are people thinking that that kind of high level of expectation is simply too much, there are two things they need to consider. For one, if the Broncos had put up a hell of a fight in the last two playoff games they lost, I think Fox would still be here. Second, if you honestly think it's wrong to say goodbye to a coach who got you so close to the end and into the playoffs, reconsider what the hell you're thinking when it comes to this sport. It's about being the best, and that's what John wants, and judging from the boos that rained down at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sunday...lots of people agree with him.  

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