The race to open the Denver Broncos general manager job is focused. With the first round of book interviews, one candidate gracefully withdrew from the contest, while two others reshuffled the favorites to win the position.
At least, that’s according to one of the most permanent Broncos people on the market. Woody Paige din Newspaper Colorado Springs – An expert in Denver for decades, with deep connections within the organization, reports new information following the initial wave of interviews.
My outside NFL sources believe that GM will be George Paton or Champ Kelly, both of the NFC North teams – the Vikings and the Bears. Curiously, the Broncos would fight the patient Lions for Paton and the Panters just as inept for Kelly. The three outfits ended 5-11.
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Paige’s report is a departure from the latest information she sent last week on the issue, where she elected Kelly and New Orleans Vice President Terry Fontenot as club leaders. However, that was before the interviews.
Since then, Fontenot has entered the GM opening with the Atlanta Falcons and is reported as one of the last “two or three” candidates for the position. It is also worth mentioning that Fontenot’s readiness to take over GM has been around for at least a week, as the Saints defeated the Bears in the Super Wild Card playoff round on Sunday.
Going back to Paige’s reports, the usual theme is Kelly. And once the Bears have been eliminated from the playoffs, he is suddenly available to take on GM if the Broncos had offered it.
However, do not sleep on Paton. Viking staff turned down an interview with Carolina for the Panthers’ GM job, to telegraph them to the Broncos on their way to the Mile High contest.
With Dave Ziegler leaning to stay with New England, any of the last three outside candidates would be an interesting job and would come with more professionals than against. Kelly feels like the obvious choice, especially given her past ties to work in Denver, including a stretch under former GM John Elway.
But don’t be surprised if Paton gets the job. He would be the black horse that few predicted.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.