An Open Letter to John Elway

Open letter to John Elway, VP Operations, Denver Broncos Football Club

Dear Mr. Elway,

Congratulations on your stellar job in assembling one of the most exciting combinations of talent in the NFL for this year, and potentially for years to come. You deserve the NFL’s Executive of the Year Award, and any other accolades that come your way.

This is not easy for me to write. After all, I have been a Cleveland Browns fan since 1984, and a few years after that, you ripped our hearts out with consecutive-year playoff victories. The Drive. The Fumble. Then, the 20+ Year Grudge.

But I must give credit where credit is due. The magic you wove to bring Peyton Manning, perhaps the greatest QB in NFL history, to the Mile High City was brave and ingenious. Getting rid of Tim Tebow was a blow to the genuflecting masses, but I’ve got to tell you, you did it and earned my admiration. Then, in answering questions about Manning’s fused neck, and what the Broncos would do if he wasn’t ready to answer the bell, you told a national audience, “Plan B? There is no Plan B.”
Whoa!
You then surrounded him with draft picks and journeymen who are the necessary role players to contribute to a championship squad.

Before Peyton, there was John Fox. He is proving to be one of the elite coaches in the NFL, if he had not already accomplished that in Carolina. Each week, players routinely reflect on the games saying they still see areas where they need to improve. Eleven wins in a row, and this hungry bunch still seeks to improve. His game plans, along with the critical guidance by coaches McCoy and Del Rio, have these fans in Denver pumped up more than a mile high. The entire state is energized by this exciting gridiron tour de force, all because of Fox’s leadership.

Once a Bronco-hater, I am now a fan.

I do have one request. Could you please ask the boys over at Elway Chevrolet in Littleton to NOT park the company van with your four-foot, toothy-smile mug painted on the side across the driveway overnight? I see that early mornings, and, despite all you have done this year, it still makes me choke on my coffee, just a little.