Broncos Country was stunned on Monday, when John Elway announced he would be stepping down from his role as General Manager.

Although Elway is reportedly relinquishing roster control as part of the move, he will still be heavily involved in the team, as he will remain the Broncos’ President of Football Operations. In other words, he will still be the new GM’s boss.

So what does this mean for the Broncos?

For starters, it’s time to start interviewing GM candidates. Some of the top names to watch are Ed Dodds (Colts Assistant GM), Mike Borganzi (Chiefs Director of Football Operations), Thomas Dimitroff (Former Falcons GM), and Will McClay (Dallas Cowboys). If Denver managed to land one of those white whales, it would be a home-run hire, and a definitive upgrade.

Elway has undeniably improved as a drafter and talent-evaluator in recent years but it certainly isn’t his strong suit. He made his living as a quarterback for a living before leaping into the world of talent-evaluation. Each of the candidates listed above have lived it for an incredibly long time. That upgrade could go a long way towards stabilizing the franchise.

The larger implication though might be the job security of Vic Fangio and Drew Lock. Elway gave them his vote of confidence just last week, but that carries a lot less weight now that he isn’t GM.

Whether or not you personally believe Lock should be around in 2021, what are the odds one of these potential GM candidates decides to roll the dice with Lock — a bottom five quarterback according to DVOA, EPA, QBR and every other major analytic — as opposed to using a premium draft pick on a quarterback?

The same goes for Fangio, though as a legendary defensive coach, he’s bought himself a little more respect inside the league than Lock has.

Even if the Broncos do keep Lock and Fangio on in their current roles though, that might not be ideal as generally you want to make these changes at coach, quarterback, and general manager simultaneously, so you don’t have a new hire stuck with someone else’s leftovers.

Another consideration is that the Broncos will likely be under new ownership within the next three years, and their current ownership situation is incredibly shaky. Both of those factors could scare off some of the prized candidates listed above.