John Elway Sounds Off on Jets Hiring Broncos Assistant GM Away

The Duke of Denver weighs in on the Broncos losing their assistant GM.
Nov 28, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos president of football operations John Elway before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High.
Nov 28, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos president of football operations John Elway before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The New York Jets have reportedly hired Denver Broncos assistant GM Darren Mougey as their new general manager. The move comes on the heels of three branches of the John Elway front-office tree growing to become bonafide NFL GMs, including Mougey, Adam Peters of the Washington Commanders, and John Spytek, the newly-minted with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Peters, Spytek, and Mougey going on to become NFL general managers is quite something. It runs counter to the tropes that John Elway was an incompetent GM during the second half of his decade-plus run at the position in Denver.

Elway's critics grudgingly give him credit for the Peyton Manning years, which included four AFC West crowns, two AFC championships, and one World Championship. Even then, people are more inclined to credit the Manning years to a happy-go-lucky Elway somehow stumbling into landing the biggest free-agent fish in NFL history, instead of giving him the plaudits he deserves for successfully recruiting him and painting the vision of what would be possible for 'The Sheriff' in Denver.

With Mougey, aka "Mooge," joining the elite ranks of NFL GM-hood, Elway hopes his former acolyte can turn the Jets around.

“If Mooge gets that thing turned around with the Jets, he’ll be a hero, they’ve been bad for so long,’’ Elway said via 9NEWS' Mike Klis.

We learned from Klis that Mougey was one of 15 candidates for the Jets' GM vacancy, making it quite an accomplishment to emerge as the guy for the job. Elway is thrilled for Mougey, Peters, and Spytek, all of whom have realized their ultimate goal of becoming a GM.

“I’m thrilled for those guys because it was the goal for all of them,’’ Elway said via Klis. “You could tell with the way they worked and what they wanted to do, you want guys to where they want to be a GM and they want to move up and want to be good at what they do. Those guys stand out pretty quickly. It’s good to see Mooge and Spytek and Adam Peters get the opportunity because they’re good at what they do."

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These aren't the first three front-office hopefuls from the Elway tree to garner the ultimate job, either. Dave Ziegler was a former Broncos scout under Elway who went on to become the Raiders' GM (2022-23).

Even John Lynch spent some time around Elway in 2011 and 2012 evaluating college tape of safeties and, as Klis reports, even sat in Broncos draft meetings in 2013 before being hired as San Francisco 49ers GM.

You might dismiss Lynch's experience with Elway as negligible relative to him getting the Niners gig, but it gave him something to point to on his resume — beyond his Hall-of-Fame career as a player and being an analyst at FOX Sports. Per Klis, Lynch considers himself part of Elway's tree and is "honored" to be so.

Then there's Elway's true righthand man for all those years in Denver — Matt Russell — who's now the senior personnel executive with the Philadelphia Eagles. Lastly, Klis reminds us of former Broncos personnel executive Champ Kelly, who now serves as the Raiders' assistant GM under Spytek.

Elway talks at length about a lot of these guys in his comments given to 9NEWS, so go read Klis' article (linked above). For now, let's marvel at what Elway accomplished as GM of the Broncos, which included five straight AFC West crowns and that coveted third Lombardi Trophy.

Elway struggled to get the quarterback position right during the second half of his tenure, and it wasn't necessarily his fault that Gary Kubiak stepped down following the 2016 season. Elway's purported vision for the Broncos long-term was Kubiak at head coach, him in the front office, and together, they'd lead the franchise into the future post-Super Bowl 50.

When Kubiak stepped down, Elway's quarterback issues were exacerbated by one failed head-coaching hire after another until he finally stepped away, first as GM after hiring George Paton to replace him, then as president of football operations when the Walton/Penner ownership group bought the Broncos.

The Paton hire was Elway's true parting gift to Broncos Country. Paton has been an excellent draft artist and has made some big free-agent moves. When a GM's only two first-round picks are foundational players like Patrick Surtain II and Bo Nix, you know he's the man for the job.

So, here's to Elway, the legendary player and GM whose fingerprints are on all three of the Broncos' Lombardi Trophies sitting in the case at Dove Valley. And congrats to Mougey.


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Chad Jensen
CHAD JENSEN

Chad Jensen is the Founder of Mile High Huddle and creator of the wildly popular Mile High Huddle Podcast. Chad has been on the Denver Broncos beat since 2012 and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.