New Rumor Hints at Broncos GM George Paton's True Job Security
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As Denver Broncos fans continue to voice their discontent over this season's colossal failure to meet expectations, first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett appears to be sitting on a red-hot seat. Dismissing Hackett after just one season seems fait accompli.
But what about the man who hired Hackett, and not only that, orchestrated the Russell Wilson trade and agreed to the five-year, $245 million extension the nine-time Pro Bowler received before ever taking a snap as a Bronco?
It's fair to wonder at Broncos GM George Paton's job security post-2022. The Walton/Penner ownership group didn't hire Paton, and though Rob Walton and Greg Penner both said complimentary things about the general manager/head coach tandem they inherited, Walton made it clear during his introductory presser this past summer that "they'll have to perform."
They've performed alright, but not in any way commensurate with the $4.65 billion investment of the Walton/Penner group. The Washington Post's Jason La Canfora added some fuel to the fire surrounding Paton's precarious situation in Denver earlier this week.
Denver Broncos General Manager George Paton’s job security remains a top of speculation around the league as well. The Russell Wilson trade and signing has been a total flop, the hiring of rookie coach Nathaniel Hackett seemed doomed from the onset — and all of that was done before a new ownership group came in. The Waltons have unlimited resources, so eating the contracts for a coach and GM might not seem all that cost-prohibitive to them. There is a mounting consensus that Hackett will not return — “They can’t sell that to their fans in 2023,” one general manager said — and three executives I spoke to believe front-office changes are more probable than not in Denver.
The Broncos are 3-9. As bright and competent as Paton has seemed from a personnel standpoint, he is responsible for the Hackett hire, and three-quarters into the season, it appears to have been a shockingly poor decision. Paton and his hiring team, which included Broncos PR czar Patrick Smyth and former CEO Joe Ellis, cast a wide net on January's head-coaching search in the wake of Vic Fangio's dismissal.
The Broncos' hiring brain trust interviewed a whopping 10 head-coaching candidates, and according to reports, the decision came down to three guys: Hackett, Kevin O'Connell, and Dan Quinn. Paton went with Hackett, who immediately hired a coach to coach the coaches. Hackett calls John Vieira's position an 'instructional designer.'
Fathom being interviewed for one of the scarcest jobs in the world, and part of your pitch is, 'Hey, if you hire me to be your head coach, I'll hire someone else to teach me how to do my job.'
Sold.
As the Broncos have imploded under Hackett, O'Connell was hired to fill Minnesota's head-coaching vacancy, and sits with a 10-2 record atop the NFC North currently. Quinn returned to his job as Dallas' defensive coordinator, fielding the third-best scoring defense and helping lead the Cowboys to a 9-3 record currently.
The egg on Paton's face, just based on Hackett's results, is a mess — but juxtaposed with how his two other finalists have fared, especially O'Connell, and the Walton/Penner group might find it very difficult to justify keeping the GM around. Someone has to be held accountable for this spectacular failure to launch.
On the subject of Wilson, it's hard to blame Paton for pulling the trigger on the trade with Seattle. Based on what everyone under the sun knew about Wilson (except for perhaps the Seahawks), his shocking regression in Denver has come as a complete shock. Nobody outside the Emerald City had any inkling that Wilson would unravel at the scale he has in Denver.
But paying Wilson a quarter of a billion dollars, and saddling the Broncos with what could end up being an albatross of a contract around the team's neck (again, before he ever took a snap), could be unforgivable, too, in the eyes of the bottom-line-oriented Walton/Penner group.
Paton has drafted well, despite ignoring key positions on the offensive line, but he hasn't been as effective on the free-agent and trade market. He traded away Von Miller, which was followed one year later by Bradley Chubb, and while Paton has missed on a quite a few free-agent additions, the early returns on D.J. Jones and K'Waun Williams (when healthy) have been impressive.
It's hard to predict at this juncture what the future holds for Paton. But La Canfora's column serves as further proof that the Broncos' general manager is officially on notice.
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