DENVER BRONCOS PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT (1/12/17)
PRESIDENT CEO JOE ELLIS
Introductory comments
“Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome. It’s an exciting day for the Denver Broncos as we introduce Vance Joseph as our next head coach. A few minutes ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Vance’s family—his wife, Holly, daughter, Nataly, and son, Stone, —here in the front row. Welcome. Welcome to Denver and welcome to the Broncos. We’re glad to have you here.
“Before I talk a little bit about Vance, I do want to take this time to thank [Executive Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager] John Elway for a lot of hard work he put into this search. It required a lot of effort, a lot of hard work, as I said, and a lot of concentration. You’re making a big decision. John’s record since he arrived here as our general manager—six straight winning seasons, five divisional titles, two Super Bowl appearances and one world championship—I think that speaks for itself, and certainly lends itself to being able to attract a candidate of the quality that Vance Joseph is. And so, John, thanks for a lot of really good hard work there.
“John will get up here in a minute and speak to you about Vance’s football acumen and a bunch of other stuff. I just want to let you know that, as a group, when we collectively met with Vance, it was very clear to us that he had a firm understanding of what it takes [for us] to be a successful football team. He has the characteristics of a leader of men. [He has the] presence, composed demeanor and a depth of knowledge in all areas—the big picture of what it requires to be a head coach—and it’s a great choice for us.
“As we talked during the interview, we all agreed on one thing—and certainly, Vance, I think, will attest to this—and that is the Denver Broncos are about winning and about doing things the right way. That is a mantra. It’s something that’s handed down from our Hall of Fame owner, Pat Bowlen, and it’s something we carry out every day when we come here to work, and we look forward to Vance having success with us as we move forward.”
“So with that, Vance, welcome.”
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS/GENERAL MANAGER JOHN ELWAY
Introductory comments
“Welcome and good afternoon. This is an exciting day. Anytime that you feel like you take a step forward is exciting. Obviously we were surprised by [former Broncos Head Coach] Gary [Kubiak’s] departure a couple of weeks ago. I will tell you this: after the shock of Gary stepping down and looking forward to trying to replace Gary, I’m going to be dead honest with you—I couldn’t be happier with the ability to fill Gary’s shoes with Vance Joseph.
“Before I get any further, I would like to thank Dave Toub, special teams coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as Kyle Shanahan, the offensive coordinator down in Atlanta, for taking the time that they spent with us last week. They both did a tremendous job [and were] both tremendous candidates and have a tremendous future in this league. They made it a very difficult choice because they did do a tremendous job. I had a chance to talk to each of them yesterday and [they] were very classy, understood and wished us all luck and obviously Vance much luck.
“I think when we talk about going through this search and what was the most important thing, obviously we’ve had a lot of success here the last five, six, seven years. It started with [former Broncos Head Coach] John Fox and it went to Gary Kubiak who took it to the next level. When you talk about culture, we talk about what that locker room means, how important the players [are] and the way that the players are treated. The culture becomes something that is very important. This team is less than a year removed from a world championship. It has not been a year since we’ve won the Super Bowl, so it’s very important to find somebody that can fit the culture that we had and also has a philosophy of the culture that we have in this building. Vance checks that box. He has that.
“He worked with Gary down in Houston. When you talk about it and you’re going to get to know Vance here in the coming months and get to meet him a little bit in a couple of minutes, but I think you’ll see the type of man that he is and what he believes in. The leadership qualities that he has are tremendous and we’ll carry on what started with John Fox, went to Gary Kubiak and he’ll carry that on. That’s why I believe that he’s the perfect fit for us. He knows our weaknesses and he knows our strengths.
“I’ll say this: he’s very smart—he’s an ex-quarterback (laughing). You think all he knows is the defensive side, but he’s aware of what we need to do on the offensive side, too. I think that’s why the combination is tremendous. I think that everywhere that he’s been he has had a great relationship. He’s been called upon, he’s well respected [working with Bengals Head Coach] Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati and then [Dolphins Head Coach] Adam Gase last year in Miami. He’s been in the middle of things and has been in the middle of big decisions. That’s why this job won’t be too big for him. He’ll fit right in.
“One of the other things that we’ve talked about is our team has been communicated to very well over the last six years. John Fox did a tremendous job communicating, [which] was one of Gary’s strengths, communicating to the team and letting them know what’s going on. I think we’re going to see it even to the next level with Vance and his ability to relate to these players and communicate with these players and let them know exactly what’s going on and how he feels.
“With that said, it’s an honor for me to introduce the 16th head coach of the Denver Broncos, Vance Joseph.”
HEAD COACH VANCE JOSEPH
Introductory comments
“I’m excited. I’m also proud and humbled to be the Broncos’ next head coach. Before I get started, my family is here: Holly, Natalie and Stone. I get it guys; your sacrifices are the ultimate. It’s a hard business for football families. I get it. I’m always working and I’m not always there. Mom does a great job with you guys. You guys are great kids. I love you guys for that.
“I want to say thank you to John [Elway] and Joe [Ellis] for affording me this awesome opportunity. It’s a football team that’s not broken. It’s a great job. Most first-time head coaches, the jobs they receive are mostly broken. This job is not broken.
“I want to thank Mr. [Pat] Bowlen and his family for his trust and his support moving forward in the future. Mr. Bowlen has set a standard here or winning and a culture here of winning. It’s my job to keep that standard, keep that culture and heighten it to new levels. Over his years as the owner here, it’s been one of the most winning franchises in professional sports history. That being said, it’s a great place. It’s a great town to work in and it’s a special place because it’s about winning. That’s my goal here, to win.”
“I want to thank some coaches that have impacted my coaching career with [former 49ers Head Coach] Mike Nolan being my first NFL head coach. Mike was a guy that taught me how to work. He was a detail guy and he was a hard worker. He was a great influence on me being my first NFL head coach. [Former 49ers Head Coach] Mike Singletary and all his staff. He was a great leader of men. He was honest, he was transparent with players and that is a trait that I’ve adopted from Mike Singletary. [Former Broncos and Texans Head Coach] Gary Kubiak, he was a black and white leader. It was one way. It was right and it was wrong. That was a great trait that Gary passed on to me. [Bengals Head Coach] Marvin Lewis, a guy who has been in a job at one place for 14 years. If you do it right, it equals longevity. And [Dolphins Head Coach] Adam Gase, Adam is a young guy, but he showed great courage in Miami, making some tough moves during the season to put us over the top. It was a slow start, but wound up being a fast finish with Adam’s leadership.
“As far as the players in attendance, my philosophy is this: just come to work. Obviously our standard is to win championships, but we can’t skip the work and we can’t skip the season. No one is going to give you 10 wins, 12 wins and put you in the playoffs. It starts with work. We can’t forget that. That’s my goal, to come in and work, making every meeting, every practice and every rep a winning performance. If we do that guys, it’s going to happen. If we don’t it won’t happen. That’s our first order of business, to come to work.
“As far as the community here, I’m a [University of Colorado] ‘Buff’. Everybody knows that. I spent most of my young life in Colorado. I welcome the chance to come back to this great community. It raised me. It’s a great place to live. It’s a great place to raise a family. I’m excited about that. I’m being reunited with a lot of friends and family and having a lot of support here, it’s exciting.
“This job won’t be a rebuild. Again, most jobs that are taken by a first-time head coach or most jobs that are open, it’s a rebuild. This job is not broken. It’s a reboot. It’s my job to find the small tweaks to make this team a winning team again. That’s my call of duty right now and hopefully we can do that quickly. It’s not a rebuild, it’s a reboot, and I’m excited to be here. It’s a culture of winning. It’s exciting. I’m proud and humbled to be here. It’s a great opportunity.
“To Broncos Country: I’m excited. The fan support here is awesome. I’ve been here as an opposing coach and it’s deafening. Broncos Country is a big part of what we do. Keep the support coming and keep the excitement coming. I promise you we’re going to go to work. That’s what I can promise we’re going to do, we’re going to go to work and make this thing happen for you guys on a weekly basis.”
On not getting the opportunity to be the defensive coordinator in Denver two years ago
“It was tough, because in this business you work hard and you make advancements. I got it. It was a contract issue. I had a contract. [Bengals Owner] Mr. [Mike] Brown was honest with me. He didn’t want me to go because it was a big year for our football team. It was tough, but it was a contract issue. My wife was the one who was really upset. I heal pretty quickly from it. I was two weeks and then I was fine. It took her probably a year to heal. I was fine and she wasn’t.”
On the status of Defensive Coordinator wade Phillips and whether he will call plays on defense
“I’m not sure. Wade is a free agent. He’s free to go where he wants to go. That’s a work in progress obviously. After this press conference I am going to deal with the staff issues. I prefer not to call plays. I’m the head coach here, but if I have to, I will. That’s something that I have in my back pocket. That’s a work in progress moving forward.”
On being labeled a leader of men
“Obviously having talent equals winning. The culture is set by the head coach and it’s set by the staff. I think being a leader of men means you can get guys to follow you. It’s a tough business and it’s a tough, long season. It takes convincing to do hard things in life. I think having the ability to have guys follow you and follow you anywhere, that’s an ability I have with players. That’s a trait that most head coaches have that are winning.”
On what he envisions as the team’s offensive identity
“I want an offense that is attacking. Being a defensive guy my entire career, only 14 seasons, when you play on offense that is attacking, it makes you be careful of your calls. If an offense was conservative, I loved it because I can be the attacker, but if the offense was attacking, with multiple personnel groups and all types of formations, that is what I want them to look like. I want to score point. Points win. Obviously defense wins championships, but you have to score points. I want an offense with swagger and I want an offense that’s up-tempo and has a chance to score a lot of points.”
On whether he watched Elway as a player
“As a quarterback we were a little different (laughs). He was a taller drop-back quarterback and I was a runner-passer, so that was no comparison, but I would watch John, obviously. He was a great player. I was at school with a motor, so I would watch John’s career. He was obviously a great player [and] a Hall of Fame player.”
On whether he ever thought that he would work for Elway
“No, that’s why it’s so humbling. It’s exciting and my thing to be head coach was to be anywhere. There’s very few available, but to have a chance to be her in Denver with a winning organization, that’s exciting. Most jobs, your first time job is a rebuild. It’s a tough job. Most guys don’t succeed in their first job, but to have a chance to be here with John—John is a winner. His whole life he has been a winner, so I’m excited to work for John and continue to win here.”
On whether he thrives on the pressure of being the Broncos head coach
“Absolutely. We have to embrace the culture here. Who wants to lose? I rather be in a job where it’s expected to win. I prefer a job that you can win four or five games isn’t OK. I’m embracing it. I want the players to embrace it. That’s what’s expected and that’s the fun part about this business. Every day you’re judged on your meetings, your practice, you’re lifting, so I’m fine with that. I’m embracing it. I’m looking forward to it.”
On the Broncos offensive struggles throughout the 2016 season
“I’ll say this, when you don’t make the playoffs it’s probably a team issue. I’ve watched the offense and I’ve watched the quarterbacks and the problem was moving the ball. You win at all three phases and you lose the same way. Offensively you can start with—we have players. We have two receivers that are All-Pro players and good offensive lineman. We have two young quarterbacks that are both competitive. It first starts there. Putting the system together that scores more points, that’s important. It’s a league of scoring points. Obviously playing defense is important, but you have to score points hay to win. It comes with a confidence. It comes with a swagger of ‘hey, I’m going to score 28 points today.’ That has to be the standard. That’s what we expect to do. Obviously that’s a work in progress. Again, building the staff to go score points, but we do have the players in place to do that. That’s encouraging.”