i like mariota. if there was any chance the rams could move up, i’d be happy if they did. nothing like 3 first rounders. but i’d do it for 2 first rounders.

http://www.denverpost.com/kiszla/ci_27321112/kiszla-gary-kubiak-is-wrong-choice-denver-broncos

Kiszla: Gary Kubiak is wrong choice if John Elway wants strong coach
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post

Before he can drive the Broncos back to the Super Bowl, there’s one tough call franchise executive John Elway must make:

When looking for a new coach, does Denver want a strong, independent leader or a sidekick who respectfully walks two steps behind Elway, in the legend’s shadow?

Gary Kubiak and Rick Dennison — two old Broncos who will forever bleed orange as loyal friends to the legendary No. 7 — are the obvious choices to be the next coach, if Elway wants a wing man to play Cougar to his Maverick.

Yes, we all know Elway is the top gun in Broncos Country. But wouldn’t hiring either Kubiak or Dennison from Baltimore as Elway’s new deputy be replicating everything good and bad about the past four years with John Fox, the avuncular coach who often seemed to be taking orders rather than giving orders?

When considering the essential quality Denver seeks in a new coach, however, here’s hoping Elway sincerely meant it when he said: “There is a huge jump from being at the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl … Can I put my finger on it? No. But I was around it and I saw it, so whether I know it consciously or subconsciously, I know what it feels like, and I know what it takes.”

There are coaches out there with championship pedigrees, Go ahead, dream big about a candidate as sexy and fanciful as TV analyst Jon Gruden. Or think outside the box, to somebody as solid and unassuming as Green Bay offensive coordinator Tom Clements, who won a national championship as Notre Dame’s quarterback and a Super Bowl ring as a Packers assistant.

But I wonder how much autonomy Elway is willing to give his coach. Or does Elway want to dress down Denver players when they give a subpar preseason effort against Seattle and advise Peyton Manning to relax when the veteran quarterback is in a funk?

During the past three NFL seasons, which saw the Broncos win an impressive 38 regular-season games but no championship ring, the unofficial pecking order at the team’s Dove Valley headquarters was evident:

1) Elway, the Duke of Denver

2) Manning, Hall of Fame quarterback

3) Fox, coach who took the blame

If the Broncos want to win the Super Bowl, the organizational chart needs to be tweaked. If offensive coordinator Adam Gase were to be elevated to head coach, it’s unlikely anything would change.

Elway has done a remarkable job of sweeping aside the mess left by Josh McDaniels and restoring Denver to its place as one of the few sports franchises in America that’s a daily part of the national conversation.

But, now, Elway can’t let his ego get in the way of winning the league championship.

During the crazy, bewildering and ultimately disappointing final hours of their NFL season, when the Broncos went from Super Bowl contender to a team left scrambling to find a new coach while praying a 38-year-old QB has one more good season left in his beat-up body, there were two telling moments.

The first indication all was not hunky-dory at Dove Valley was the revelation that Fox, the ultimate get-along guy faulted for being too conservative and unassertive, was exploring the possibility of leaving Denver before the loss against Indianapolis. Before Elway shoved Fox out the door, the 59-year-old coach was preparing to jump.

Then there was this slip of the tongue that brought a chuckle to what could have been a somber state-of-the-Broncos address Tuesday by Elway. “I’d like to start out this press conference,” Elway said, “with a thank-you to John Elway …” Oops. He meant to thank Fox.

It was an accident. But it accidentally revealed a lot: In Broncos Country, the sun rises and sets with Elway.

There are too many knuckleheads in the Denver locker room, even if some of them (Von Miller and Aqib Talib) make the Pro Bowl. At times, Fox struggled to place full trust in draft picks such as Cody Latimer, Montee Ball and Orlando Franklin, as the veteran coach quietly yearned for more say in personnel decisions.

What does it say if Gase, who has worked closer with Denver quarterbacks than anyone, chased so hard after a job with Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco, when he has an aging Manning and unproven Brock Osweiler in Denver? Or what are we to think when defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio departed the Broncos for Oakland, certainly among the most dysfunctional organizations in pro sports?

The message is clear: The Broncos have both talent and Super Bowl-or-bust expectations. But an NFL coach in Denver also works in the shadow of a legend and can get dumped after four straight playoff appearances. That’s not an easy gig. The next coach must command the respect of Elway.

What’s one of the hardest things for a legendary quarterback to do?

Hand off the ball and let somebody else run with it.

Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or twitter.com/markkiszla

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000457765/article/elway-disagreed-with-fox-on-how-to-get-to-next-level

John Elway gave a simple answer when asked why John Fox was no longer the coach of the Denver Broncos.

“I think the main thing between John and I was we disagreed how to get to the next level,” Elway said during a Tuesday news conference at Broncos headquarters. “Because we accomplished so much, four AFC West championships. I think the biggest miss between us was how are we going to take that next step and what it was going to take to get to that next step. That’s where that disagreement came from.”

Hiring Fox was Elway’s first order of business after re-joining the Broncos four years ago. He repeatedly stated that Fox was the perfect person for the job “at that time.” Elway made it clear he was disappointed, not just by the losses to the Seahawks and Colts that ended the last two seasons, but by how they lost those games.

“If there’s one thing that you’d like to have and you want to feel is at least in the last game you want to feel like you go out kickin’ and screaming,” he said. “And that you’re right there. And I think two years in a row it didn’t feel like we went out kickin’ and screaming because of the way we played in the last game. So hopefully we get that turned around, that’s going to be our goal.”

i suppose that’s football reasons. it’s somewhat vague. is he saying that fox didn’t have the desire to win or is he saying that they both had a desire to win but couldn’t agree on how to get there?

sometimes change is good. change for the sake of change isn’t necessarily a good thing.

and i think the rams are at a very different stage than the broncos are. i think bernie’s argument is weak at best.

Agamemnon wrote:

Things were cheap back then.

funny. hahahaha!

to me that’s still significant. and it’s definitely a factor. and i still think it’s a conservative estimate.

but he makes money off of psls too. and i’m guessing he’ll make way more in psl’s than he would in st. louis.

psls in san francisco are expected to raise around 500 million dollars. atlanta i think is expected to generate around 200 million dollars in psls.

staples center generates 345 million dollars a year in revenue. that’s from the lakers, clippers, kings, sparks, and concerts.

now obviously. in the nfl. a lot of that would end up being shared with other teams. also. i don’t know what a stadium in st. louis would generate. i also don’t know what an nfl stadium could generate compared to an nba stadium.

and if a second team moved in i don’t know what money kroenke would get from that.

there’s also naming rights to the stadium. merchandising. again. i don’t know how much of this is shared. i also don’t know how much this would compare to st. louis. my guess is it’s higher.

cowboys generate 560 million dollars in revenue. compare that to the rams which is 250 million in revenue. that’s a difference of 310 million. again. i don’t know how much of this is shared. the new york giants is 353 million. that’s a difference of 100 million. and those number are from forbes. and that’s probably just football related. and also. the cowboys’ operating costs are significantly higher than other teams. so that’s a factor.

i just don’t know. but i think that the numbers are more obscene than we could even imagine. and i think the potential for a los angeles rams team compared to a st. louis rams team is way way higher.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by InvaderRam.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by InvaderRam.

i don’t think we have any idea what kind of revenues he can get from building this. thing.

i still think it’s an issue. i think the potential for revenue compared to st. louis is a lot higher than we can imagine. it’s not just nfl games.

it’s concerts. it’s other sporting events. corporate sponsorships. i know st. louis said it’s got plenty of corporate partners in st. louis, but it’ll be nothing like what’s available in los angeles.

i don’t think it’s JUST about the value of the franchise.

well there ya go.

that’s how he would make his money back.

st. louis is in a real bind here. the only way i see the rams staying at this point is if the broncos do go on sale this year, and kroenke is inclined to sell the rams quick.

also.

With a new TV contract that started this year and runs through 2021, the league won’t see much immediate financial impact from a move of any team to Los Angeles.

is that what owners are waiting for? would a team in los angeles mean more tv dollars in the next contract? well. all the more reason the league wants a team or two there.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by InvaderRam.

very interesting. wow.

well. the difference i see between the vikings situation and the rams situation is that the vikings didn’t have a great option in play at los angeles. at least not as good as the deal offered by minnesota. i believe the only way a move to los angeles was possible was selling part of the team to the people building the stadium. and that was a worse option than keeping complete ownership of the vikings in minnesota.

the difference as i see it is the rams have a better option in los angeles. or at least kroenke does. that’s something no other team had before.

the only way i see the rams staying in st. louis is if kroenke sells the team. the rams stay put. and kroenke turns around and buys the raiders and then moves them to oakland. i think that was mentioned in the bernie article. i see that as being likely.

the only problem with that is what does the new ownership do with the front office? do they stay the course or do they start bringing in their own ideas? maybe that would be a good thing… it isn’t like kroenke’s rams have been lighting up the league.

i still think the cash flow will be way more than anything he could get in st louis.

so he’ll spend a couple billion while the value of the team increases by a couple billion. at least. although really my guess is that’s a very conservative estimate. it probably increases considerably more than that.

and on top of that the cash flow will be even greater than at st louis considering the non football retail space.

and on top of that he could collect additional cash through leasing the stadium out to a second team.

plus if he rents the stadium out to a second team. is that money shared?

i wish they’d make a decision already. all this uncertainty is getting to me.

from reading some pre-draft articles people seem to think mason would be a great fit in a zone blocking scheme.

but i’m not sure fisher used a zone blocking scheme at tennessee. i read that chris johnson ran in a power blocking scheme at tennessee.

someday. they will make a documentary about this. i wonder if we’ll learn anything from it.

we all realize that this is just a silly game and tell the owners and players to go screw themselves?