John Elway to Take 'Elevated Role' with Broncos; Denver to Hire General Manager

The Denver Broncos will hire a new general manager in 2021 as John Elway is going to take on more responsibilities for the organization. 

Elway announced on Monday that he will have an "elevated role" in the front office that will require him to relinquish the general manager job:

"Working in this role for the last 10 years and going back to my playing days, I've always tried to do everything I can to help the Broncos win and get better. As part of a transition I've thought about for a long time, I have made the decision to step up into an elevated role and hire a general manager to lead our personnel and football staff.

"While I'll continue to be President of Football Operations in 2021, the GM will have final say on the draft, free agency and our roster. This person will be empowered to make all football decisions, working in partnership with Vic."

Per NFL Network's James Palmer, Broncos vice president of player personnel Matt Russell was offered the job by Elway, but opted to retire from the organization. 

ESPN's Field Yates noted a "logical target" for the Broncos would be Adam Peters. He just finished his fourth season with the San Francisco 49ers vice president of player personnel after spending eight years in Denver.  

Elway has been Denver's general manager and executive vice president of football operations since 2011. He's been in charge of everything related to personnel and roster decisions over the past 10 seasons. 

The Broncos have gone through a series of highs and lows under Elway's stewardship. They made the playoffs in each of his first five years with two Super Bowl appearances, including a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.

Since that Super Bowl victory, Denver has gone 32-48 with no playoff appearances. The Broncos haven't finished higher than second in the AFC West in the past five seasons. 

One of the biggest problems for the Broncos has been finding a long-term quarterback. They have used 10 different starters since 2016. Trevor Siemian is the only player to lead the team in passing yards in a season more than once during this span. 

Elway's statement did note the new general manager, as well as head coach Vic Fangio, will report to him as part of the new organizational structure. 

The Broncos finished last in the AFC West with a 5-11 record in 2020.