The Broncos will honor Bowlen during the season with a decal on their jerseys and helmetsGETTY IMAGES
Broncos President & CEO Joe Ellis said that the succession plan to replace late Owner Pat Bowlen "remains unchanged," according to Ryan O'Halloran of the DENVER POST. Ellis: "I’m going to be careful and be sensitive to the family. ... I would just tell you that nothing has changed." Ellis' comments can be "viewed as a sign he and the trustees are not in a time crunch to find a successor or sell the team." Two of Bowlen’s seven children, Beth Bowlen Wallace and Brittany Bowlen, have "expressed their desire to replace their father" as controlling owner. It is "believed the Broncos still plan to bring Brittany Bowlen, 29, back to the organization by the end of this year," She previously worked for the team for one year. It appears Pat Bowlen’s death has also "not changed any aspects of his brother Bill’s lawsuit against the trustees." Meanwhile, Ellis said that the Broncos will "honor Bowlen during the season with a decal 'Mr. B' on the jerseys and helmets" (DENVER POST, 6/18). Broncos President of Football Operations & GM John Elway said the ownership situation "will play itself out." Elway: "There’s a transition plan that Pat [put] together and I’m sure Joe will execute it the way Pat wanted it." Ellis said of the late owner, "He put a plan in place. It was his plan. As a trustee, it’s my obligation and our obligation with my other two fellow trustees to carry out the plan" (9NEWS.com, 6/18).
LASTING IMPACT: Elway said part of Bowlen's legacy in Denver is that he "ran this football team with his heart and not his pocketbook." Elway: "The players felt that. ... Nothing means more than when your owner and the main boss is at practice every single day. If it’s that important to him, it rubbed off on us as players.” Elway, who visited Bowlen for the last time last Wednesday, said every decision he makes is "based off what Pat would do and what is the best decision for the Denver Broncos" (DENVER POST, 6/18).
