Whenever I’m trying to get my colleagues to move in the right direction, I often, in full view of the entire company, find the highest paid employee I can find and scream at them. When it comes to boosting morale, this is the secret sauce.
That’s how Broncos defensive end Mike Purcell and quarterback Russell Wilson tried to take in a moment during Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Panthers. Purcell, running off the field, yelled something into Wilson’s mask as if Wilson had cut him off for the last parking spot at the mall. Wilson seemed to be nodding like someone nervously trying to part with a pair of office pajamas.
Even if these events were true, even if this happened and the clip on TV allowed our imaginations to take the whole moment out of context, why is Purcell trying to give his team a spark? Why is this the avenue he has chosen? Why isn’t Wilson yelling and screaming? Why isn’t the guy who is positively skinny until at least 2026 doing anything other than trying to make himself look like he’s not the problem?
Those are the biggest questions for the Broncos moving forward. While we all seem to have made up our minds about this current regime and are ready to point the finger at failure and see them removed from the manager after one season, we have yet to wonder who might want to inherit this mess.
To be clear, we are not advocating firing anyone. Nathaniel Hackett has taken the majority of the criticism for this season and, in the eyes of most people paid to have an opinion on the NFL, will be the one paying the price for the whole thing. Google “Fire Nathaniel Hackett” and you might get as much reading material as if you searched for “World Cup”. This idea isn’t new, it’s probably not far-fetched, but it may ultimately be the path to more prolonged misery in Denver.
If I were in a position of power with the Broncos, I’d be wondering what Wilson did to change the course of this season and what he did in previous stops when his back was against the wall. It’s okay to dress and act like the perfect host when there’s company. What can we continue to expect from an investment that is literally 10 times what we made in Hackett?
Ask a prospective head coach about an NFL gig and he’ll likely respond with some form of the phrase: Every rose has its thorn. There are only 32 of these jobs. Every team has a frustratingly annoying owner, a completely non-existent fan base, a depleted receiving corps or a shell of a defense.
The Broncos, however, are somewhat unique. Like the Browns, Cardinals and Packers, the sheer weight of the quarterback’s contract compared to the relatively unproven nature of the coach available makes these quarterbacks as powerful as the owners, as they could easily dictate the hiring and firing of someone another through their own. implementation. This is, in many ways, scarier and more slippery than the idea of inheriting a Davis Mills or a Daniel Jones. There is no built-in trial and error period. There is an assumed pattern.
In addition, prospective coaches watch great people. I’ve written about this before, but when the quarterback leaves the room, what do the other players do? What they say? Is the exchange between Wilson and Purcell nothing or everything?
Earlier this week, we watched the Jets’ Zach Wilson work his way out of a starting role through a lengthy process cemented by his inability to take enough responsibility for an inept offensive performance. Ultimately, the idea that generals should be ridiculously, painfully remorseful after defeats is silly. As a country, we really know how to play that kind of self-flagellation and we expect it from everyone else but ourselves when you know what hits the fan.
And Russell Wilson, to his credit, said what the Jets hoped Zach Wilson would say on multiple occasions, including after the Colts loss two months ago. But for the price, the Broncos should expect — and get — more than the bare minimum. They should expect someone who holds their teammates accountable enough to not want to take matters into their own hands.
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