Pat Bowlen Steps Down in Role as Broncos Owner

The Broncos started training camp on a somber note as Pat Bowlen steps down from day-to-day responsibilities as the Owner of the Broncos due to his battle with Alzheimer's Disease. It has been speculated for a long time that Bowlen was suffering from this horrible condition, but yesterday the Broncos and Bowlen's family made it official. Bowlen will no longer be at the Broncos facility and he is stepping away from his ownership duties to fight the illness. Bowlen still owns the Broncos, and he intends to keep the team in his family. One of his five children will eventually take control as Owner of the franchise, but that is something that is down the road. Joe Ellis will replace Bowlen's Chairman duties on a day-to-day basis. Ellis has become the defacto Owner of the Broncos the past few years as Bowlen's condition has worsened. Ellis even made the trip to the Owner's Meetings a few months ago in Bowlen's place. It is definitely a sad day for the Broncos and their fans, and John Elway's emotional press conference was an example of that. Bowlen was one of the best owners in the entire NFL and in professional sports. I always told people that were fans of other teams that the reason why the Broncos have been so successful in my lifetime is that Bowlen is a great owner and it starts at the stop. Since 1984, the Broncos have the second highest winning percentage in the NFL. They have been to the playoffs 16 times, won 11 AFC West crowns, appeared in 6 Super Bowls, and won 2 Super Bowls. Bowlen always seemed to "get it" as an owner. He would do what he had to do to help the Broncos succeed. If that meant hiring the right coaches or getting the best players he did what it took to make the Broncos a competitive team every year. If it wasn't for Bowlen's leadership and vision, then who the hell knows what type of franchise the Broncos would be. Also, Bowlen did a great job of staying out of  the spotlight. He hired people, trusted them, and stood by their work and decisions. He was really the perfect type of owner in that regard. On a league scale, Bowlen was a visionary in terms of growing the NFL. He was instrumental in adopting free agency and he came up with the idea of the Franchise Tag to protect teams from losing start players. He was very important in growing the game on the television side and adding NFL football to the primetime structure that it dominates in today's landscape. He surely is a Hall of Famer by any standards.

 The Broncos won't change much now that he has stepped down. Joe Ellis has been running the business side for the past few years, and John Elway is running the football side. Ellis will have final say on big decisions that Elway presents to him-just like it has been for the past few years. The key question will be in the future when Bowlen passes his ownership down to one of his children. It will be interesting to see how that dynamic plays out, but that is a discussion for the future not now. The Broncos are still in good hands with the current situation they are in, and there is no reason to see that changing in the near future. The best way to honor Bowlen this season is to go out and win a Super Bowl for him and claim "This one's for Pat."