ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Before anyone could ask – and it was asked – why Greg Penner decided not to have general manager George Paton follow head coach Nathaniel Hackett out the UCHealth Training Center automatic doors, Paton doused any potential awkwardness.
Sitting next to boss Penner for a 26-minute press conference in the team auditorium Tuesday to address Hackett’s firing, Paton took full responsibility for the Denver Broncos being in the mess they’re in.
“It just didn’t work out here, and that’s on me,’’ Paton said in a prepared statement before addressing questions. “As I told the players yesterday, I take full responsibility for where we are as a football team.
“I brought in the head coach, I brought in most of the players," he said. "Those are my decisions. And there is no one to blame but me. And I want to be clear: This isn’t just about the coaching. This isn’t about Nathaniel. This is about the personnel, the players, the staff, everyone involved with our football team. It has to be better across the board. I have to be better.’’
It was later put to Penner: Why not George? Why keep Paton, who was the one who hired Hackett, traded for Wilson and then paid Wilson before he played a down for the Broncos.
“George and I have had a chance to get to know each other,’’ Penner said. “We talk every day since we’ve purchased the team a number of months ago. He acknowledged right up front there were a couple of decisions that haven’t worked out as he had expected. But I understand his thought process, he understands the work that needs to be done this offseason, and I’m going to rely on him heavily as we go through and make these changes.”
> Watch Broncos co-owner and CEO Greg Penner and General Manager George Paton speak about Hackett's firing on Tuesday:
Paton has remarkably vast experience as an NFL scout, assistant GM and GM. He knows all the coaches, executives, scouts, personnel people and their agents. He’s also proven to be astute with the draft. It’s free agent and quarterback evaluations where he has come up a little short. And picking a head coach.
Paton worked harder than any other NFL search committee heads last year. Paton crisscrossed the country to interview 10 candidates in person. Other teams conducted their first-round of head coaching interviews via Zoom.
The Zoom teams wound up with better coaches.
“Maybe we could have talked to more candidates and had a wider net,’’ Paton said. “I felt really good about our process. I felt good about our decision at the time.”
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