Broncos Announce New V.P. Hire to Keep Injury Bug at Bay
The Denver Broncos aren't skimping when it comes to rebuilding the coaching staff to the standards of the Walton/Penner ownership group. The Broncos spent big to hire head coach Sean Payton, and the investment in turning the ship around hasn't stopped there.
On the heels of hiring strength and conditioning coach Dan Dalrymple, who replaces the much-maligned Loren Landow, the Broncos have hired another expert in the field to preside over the team's wellness program. On Friday, the Broncos hired Beau Lowery, naming him vice president of player health and performance.
Coach Payton provided a statement on the Lowery hire.
“Beau Lowery is the best I’ve ever been around," Payton said. "He was a complete game-changer for us in New Orleans who reshaped how we operated in our training room and throughout our sports performance areas. We are excited to welcome Beau to the Broncos and look forward to the positive impact he will have on our team.”
For the past two years, Lowery served as LSU's director of sports medicine. According to the Broncos' press release, he had the "responsibility for developing, coordinating and administering the sports medicine efforts" for all the teams across the Tigers' program.
Before he took his talents to the SEC, Lowery worked with Payton with the New Orleans Saints for nearly a decade (2012-21), serving at first as a sports medicine assistant before becoming the club's director of rehabilitation. In 2017, the Saints promoted Lowery to director of sports medicine, where he spent his final five years in the Big Easy.
Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner celebrated the Lowery hire as well.
“The health and wellness of the players is a top priority for our organization," Penner said. "Sean has made an important addition to the Broncos in Beau Lowery, who will create an elite sports performance program leading our athletic training, strength & conditioning, nutrition and sports science staffs. We will continue to invest in all aspects of player care and performance to ensure we are providing the best possible resources for our team both on and off the field.”
Broncos Country is well aware of how an unfocused sports medicine and rehabilitation program can torpedo a football season. Some fans, perhaps, are a bit skeptical that the combined efforts of Dalrymple and Lowery will snap the seeming injury-bug curse that has covered the Broncos for the past four years.
Take it from future Hall-of-Famer Drew Brees, who spent much of his career in New Orleans with Lowery running the team's sports medicine. Brees credits Lowery for helping to extend his prolific 20-year NFL career.
“Beau Lowery added years onto my career," Brees said via statement. "His vision, leadership, character and process for sports performance and physical therapy are second-to-none. There is no better person you will find in this role to equip the team for health, recovery and success.”
No NFL team had more salary-cap dollars sitting on injured reserve last year than the Broncos. A complete overhaul of the program was long overdue.
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