It's Time. Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen Should Be in Canton
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It’s time. Broncos owner Pat Bowlen should be in Canton. By Nicki Jhabvala Denver Post Feb. 18, 2018 Pat Bowlen was the fastest NFL owner to reach 300 wins, is the only NFL owner to reach four Super Bowls with four different head coaches, owns the remarkable feat of having more Super Bowl appearances (seven) than losing seasons (six), also has 21 winning seasons, 18 playoff berths and a record that puts him in elite company. But the Broncos’ owner of 34 years has built a legacy that extends far beyond the field. On Sunday, Bowlen turns 74 and though he hasn’t roamed the hallways of the team’s Dove Valley headquarters and hasn’t stood on the sidelines for practices in nearly four years, that legacy continues to grow. That legacy continues to be Hall of Fame-worthy. “It’s in the stats, just look at the numbers,” said former Broncos running back Terrell Davis. “It’s one of the most successful, winning franchises in the NFL. He doesn’t get the credit, and a lot of it is because he didn’t want the credit.” They don’t make ’em like Pat Bowlen anymore. They don’t make NFL owners with a devotion to his team, a success rate that is unmatched by most and a complete disinterest in attention. Some owners may have one. The good ones might have two. But rarely do they possess all three. Bowlen does, and for proof just ask his players, coaches and those worked alongside him over the years. “I was over there watching practice one day and, I can’t remember who it was, but he came over and said, ‘Hey, man. Pat wants to see you in his office,'” former Broncos receiver Rod Smith recalled. “I had been retired for a couple years at that point, so when I hear Pat wants to see me in his office, I’m like ‘Ah, man, what’d I do?’ I’m scared walking up there, like I’m going to the principal’s office. We sat there for like 45 minutes just talking — about life and kids and the team and how we’re doing as a company overall. It was the coolest 45 minutes. That will always be one of my fondest memory in the NFL, sitting down with the owner of the Broncos, having a family conversation.” Listen to former Broncos defensive lineman Alfred Williams: “How he wanted to win and how everything was geared to just winning, no matter what it cost to make improvements to the facility, no matter what it cost to retain the best players. There was never a guy unhappy about contract situations when he was here. It was magical. It was great. If were a guy who wanted to know how to be a pro, all you had to do was look at him and look at how he approached his thing.” Listen to Davis: “When I tore my ACL, Pat called me. And I didn’t expect the owner to call me after I tore my ACL. You expect the trainers, maybe a teammate, maybe a position coach to call you. He was the first one to call. That little gesture that he did, it meant the world to me. I’d run through a brick wall for that man.” Listen to former receiver Ed McCaffrey, who has recounted time and time again of his early mornings in the Broncos’ training room where Bowlen cycled on a stationary bike next to him as McCaffrey rehabbed a broken leg. “He really loved football, he loved the Broncos,” McCaffrey said. “And I appreciated that, as an owner, he took the time to hang out with me and train with me during a difficult time in my career.” And listen to former coach Mike Shanahan, who was both hired and fired by Bowlen, and has told the tales of trips to Hawaii for the team’s staff, paid for by Bowlen. “He was in the office everyday. There’s a lot of owners who aren’t around very much. Pat was around,” Shanahan said. “Pat would workout in the weight room every day and he would get on his elliptical and get a workout in. He was actually one of the guys. “You know that’s the reason the organization is where it is, because of him. He gave you every chance to win, and was just a very unselfish guy.” But Bowlen’s prints were found in nearly every facet of the game. As a member of nine NFL committees during his ownership, Bowlen, helped to broker a record TV contract in the late ‘90s, turned Sunday Night Football into the marquee night for watching football, pushed for international expansion and poured more than $30 million into the Denver community — often anonymously. “If you looked at everything he’s done for the league and we had not been a winning team, he’d be a Hall of Famer,” said former Broncos vice president of corporate communications, Jim Saccomano. “If you ignore what he did for the league and just looked at being the first owner to have 300 wins and the record on the field and the Super Bowls, he’d still be a Hall of Fame.” But that last piece, the pinnacle of any football career, has curiously alluded Bowlen. As each year passes without Bowlen’s name being called, the push to get him to Canton grows stronger. And rightfully so. The year of 2018 may be fit for Bowlen’s long-awaited induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor, and it could be made even sweeter. Former cornerback Champ Bailey will in his first year of eligibility and has the resume to be a first-ballot selection. A Bowlen-Bailey pairing to expand the Broncos’ Hall of Fame contingent to seven would undoubtedly seal the owner’s mark on the league, on the city, on his team. In 2019, Bowlen’s legacy could grow even more should the Broncos and the city of Denver be appointed hosts of the NFL draft. Denver was named one of five finalists to host in either 2019 or 2020, and the team is confident it will be awarded one. But Bowlen’s three-plus decades of leading the Broncos, expanding the league and contributing to Denver organizations more than suffice. Pat Bowlen should already be in Canton. Here’s an innovative idea to get Broncos safety Steve Atwater into the Pro Football Hall of Fame By Mark Kiszla Denver Post Feb. 18, 2018 Too many deserving NFL players are not getting in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while voters are busy inducting contributors (Washington Redskins general manager Bobby Beathard, for example). The Hall needs to create a very special “catch-up” year for players only. Maybe once a decade? The induction process is honored more than worthy players left on the outside looking in. Gary, Broncos fan Kiz: Like many august American institutions, the Pro Football Hall of Fame takes itself a wee bit too seriously. It’s a party. The more the merrier. So, if once a decade, Hall passes are given to players that have been overlooked, what would the harm be? It might be the only way to get Steve Atwater a much- deserved gold jacket. I am an honorably discharged military veteran and an American sports fan that cheered for snowboarder Shaun White winning gold in the halfpipe, then watched in horror as this clueless hero dragged the United States flag around like it was some rag. White owes us all an apology. Should the U.S. Olympic Committee include some training on how to handle the flag? Ric, Centennial Kiz: White did apologize for letting the flag drag in the snow, when I asked him about it. We want the Olympics to stick to sports, until a U.S. athlete wins gold. Then, the first thing we want to do is wrap the happy medalist in the flag. The ritual has reduced the flag so many hold sacred into a mere prop for a photo opportunity. Kiz, your columns on EagleVail skier Mikaela Shiffrin have been especially great. You are, without a doubt, the best sports writer ever! Your insights and writing skills are amazing, and you are able to capture our hearts and souls with the finest prose. May you keep writing forever. Paul, world-traveling scientist Kiz: Aw, shucks. Kiz, I’ve read enough of your columns to assimilate the fact that you don’t know much about sports. We the American people deserve better than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Would you want to comment on that? Maybe you know more about politics than sports. Steve, Denver Kiz: I know nothing about anything, as Broncos general manager John Elway be glad to tell you. Do the Nuggets regret not holding onto Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, after taking him in the first round, then promptly trading him away? Jon, amateur general manager Kiz: Denver drafted Mitchell for the singular purpose of working a trade with Utah. So he was never going to wear a Nuggets uniform. With Gary Harris at guard, one could argue Denver didn’t need Mitchell. But here’s my draft philosophy: Take talent every time, and need will take care of itself. And today’s parting shot advocates on behalf of a new television analyst for skiing at the Olympics. Kiz, could you find Bode Miller, bind him and toss him in a closet, then take over commentating on the alpine events? Please.