ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) 鈥� Denver Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner expressed confidence in general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton as he took stock of a fruitful season that came up short after broke an ankle in the playoffs.
鈥淲e鈥檇 love to have both of them here long-term,鈥� Penner said. 鈥淚 think the partnership they鈥檝e created and how they work together is very complementary.鈥�
In their three years working together, the Broncos have improved from 8-9 in 2023 to 10-7 in 2024 and 15-4 this season, which included a divisional-round win over Buffalo and a 10-7 loss to New England in the with backup QB Jarrett Stidham under center.
Paton has one year left on the six-year deal he signed in 2021 and Payton has two seasons left on his five-year deal
鈥淚n terms of the contracts, those are things that we鈥檒l always deal with on a personal basis and in private,鈥� Penner said.
The Broncos tied a franchise record with 14 wins in the regular season and beat Buffalo in overtime for their first playoff triumph since Super Bowl 50. But Nix broke his right ankle on the game-winning drive and gave way to Stidham on Sunday, when ahead of a blizzard helped derail their Super Bowl dreams.
鈥淥bviously the result on Sunday was disappointing and not what we were expecting,鈥� Penner said. 鈥淭he finality of it is tough. This is our fourth season and two going out in the playoffs. It hits you pretty hard. That being said, I thought it was a pretty unforgettable season that we鈥檒l look back on. There were a lot of successes.鈥�
The Broncos had six All-Pro players, produced an 11-game winning streak and reestablished a strong homefield advantage, going 9-2 at Empower Field at Mile High.
鈥淭he main message is that we are not satisfied,鈥� Penner said. 鈥淲e know that we have a lot of work to do. We have obviously made a lot of progress in the last four years, but we are going to work our tails off this offseason and come in next year ready to go.”
Unlike some other owners, Penner isn’t one to publicly delve into the team’s football decisions.
鈥淚鈥檒l leave the specifics of where we fell short to our coaching staff and front office because that鈥檚 their job and that鈥檚 what they do really well,鈥� Penner said. 鈥淭he process we鈥檒l go through in the next couple weeks: We鈥檒l start the evaluation of our roster, evaluating our coaching staff. You鈥檒l have some natural attrition where coaches can have other opportunities and then we make some changes that we feel are in the best interest of the organization.
鈥淭hen we evaluate our roster and our system and come away with some absolute needs and then wants and address that through free agency, trades and the draft.鈥�
The Broncos are finally going to be out from under the record $85 million in dead cap charges from Russell Wilson’s release, and the Broncos’ new $175 million state-of-the-art headquarters and training facility is due to open this spring and serve as another draw for free agency along with a franchise quarterback and a thriving GM/head coach relationship.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got some great folks in place, including the coach, GM and quarterback,鈥� Penner said. 鈥淭hat gives you a chance every year to be successful. Obviously, you鈥檝e got to build out the rest of the roster in a meaningful way and have the best players you can at every position. The way we look at it from an ownership perspective is we have to provide the resources and set the expectations really high and then we鈥檙e going to hold people accountable.鈥�
As far as free agency, Penner said, 鈥淲e鈥檒l definitely take an aggressive approach, but we鈥檙e also not just going to bring in somebody that鈥檚 not right for this locker room. There鈥檒l be a lot of factors that we consider. I鈥檇 say we鈥檒l be opportunistically aggressive.”
New stadium
Penner said if Sunday’s blizzard happened on gameday in 2032 he would close the roof, confirming the organization is 鈥渆valuating retractable roof options鈥� for the new stadium in downtown Denver.
Skies were clear at kickoff for the AFC championship but it quickly got cloudy and a blizzard arrived after halftime, making it difficult for players to make cuts and for fans to even see the action on the field.
鈥淚n this case, we would鈥檝e likely closed it ahead of time, given both the temperature and the potential precipitation,鈥� Penner said. 鈥淭hat being said, who knows if that would鈥檝e had any outcome on that either way? This would鈥檝e been more around 鈥� just, what was good for the fans. Because that was pretty rough.鈥�
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