On Sunday night, with a national television audience watching, the Denver Broncos will induct owner Pat Bowlen into the team’s Ring of Fame – an honor long overdue in the eyes of many.
The ceremony will be bittersweet for dozens, if not hundreds of current and former Denver Broncos employees, as the the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease have left the longtime head of the franchise unable to manage the team’s day-to-day operations, officially, since last year. Mr. Bowlen, one of the iconic leaders in NFL history, led the team to six Super Bowl appearances and two world titles in his 30 years as owner.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said this about Mr. Bowlen in a statement to the Denver Post upon the announcement of his stepping down in 2014:
Pat Bowlen’s leadership has been critical to the success of the Broncos and the entire NFL. From building a championship team that is a pillar of the community to his important work for the league on television and labor matters, Pat’s love of the game drove him and we have all benefited from his passion and wisdom.
Mr. Bowlen’s influence was felt at every level – from the top of the league he helped build into the predominant force in American professional sports, to every member of the game day operations staff. Something two of his former employees recount with much fondness.
James Merilatt, president of Mile High Sports, and Kent Erickson, host of The Big Show on Mile High Sports AM 1340, both worked for the Broncos during the team’s golden era and recall with fondness the winning culture Mr. Bowlen established and his passionate pursuit to make the team the class of the NFL. He was determined to make the Broncos the best, Merilatt and Erickson recall, sparing no expense and motivating his entire organization to doggedly pursue that goal.
Merilatt, who worked in the team’s marketing department remembers one particular time where Mr. Bowlen’s desire for excellence became real to him.
Before starting Mile High Sports Magazine, James Merilatt worked for the Denver Broncos in their marketing department and was responsible for their in-stadium program, Gameday.
He recalls a time during his tenure with the club when Mr. Bowlen’s vision for his organization to be the best at absolutely everything, no matter the cost, came very much into focus.
“From the first day I was there until my very last day, it was clear that his goal was to be No. 1 in everything we did,” Merilatt says. “They put all their resources behind everything they did.”
Fans will almost certainly recall Denver’s, how shall we say, “creative accounting” during the two Super Bowl years. No expense was spared to surround John Elway with the on-field resources needed to win those elusive championships, even if it meant a financial slap on the wrist and a lost draft pick. Delivering the best for fans was the only goal.
The same held true off the field, as Merilatt recalls.
“It had to have been around 2004. The Gameday magazines were delivered on Friday and there was a printing error. All of the covers were too dark. Most people would have never noticed. I was told to make sure it was right.”
That meant going back to print on Saturday night, all at the expense of the team.
“It had to be an $18,000 print bill,” Merilatt remembers. “But the cost didn’t matter. Mr. Bowlen said to make it right.
“Whether it was that or flying me and a photographer to Bend, Ore. to interview Gary Zimmerman after he had retired, we were always told to do whatever we needed to deliver the best possible experience for the fans.
“The Rockies gave out t-shirts with their star shortstop’s name misspelled. That never would have been an option for Mr. Bowlen.”
Kent Erickson, who worked as the team’s director of video operations and football technology for more than 20 years recalls a similar attitude when it came to the on-field product.
From 1988 until 2009, the man behind the lens of the all-22 camera for the Denver Broncos was Kent Erickson, now the host of The Big Show on Mile High Sports AM 1340.
Erickson has countless memories of Mr. Bowlen’s leadership in action, but remembers two moments with vivid detail.
Mike Shanahan had just been hired as the head coach of the team. He had been handed the daunting task of guiding John Elway in the twilight of his career to a Super Bowl championship. Elway had reached the doorstep of the promised land three times with Dan Reeves, but never walked through the gates. Shanahan was expected to change that.
“As soon as Shanahan arrived he asked me, ‘How many [film] viewing rooms do we have?’ I told him we had 10. ‘Upstairs?’ he asked. That was our total, I told him.”
Shanahan wanted to triple that number.
“‘Coach, each of those viewing machines is $30,000,’ I said.”
The coach told Erickson to hold tight. Shanahan then went and spoke with Mr. Bowlen. Not ten minutes later he was back in front of Erickson.
“‘Make it happen,’ he told me,” said Erickson. “Coach asked and Mr. Bowlen immediately gave the green light. If it was necessary to be the best, he said ‘do it.'”
According to Erickson, it was that same attitude that led to one the hardest days of his career, and certainly one of the hardest for Mr. Bowlen. The day he had to let Shanahan go.
Erickson remembers a moment with Mr. Bowlen from that difficult day.
For the third consecutive year, the Denver Broncos failed to make the playoffs in 2008. It was a difficult time for the organization as a new franchise quarterback, Jay Cutler, adapted to life in the NFL and the fan base remained divided about whether or not Jake Plummer might still have been a better option.
After losing three straight games to end the year 8-8, needing only one win in that stretch to secure a playoff berth, Shanahan was let go on December 30, just two days after a 52-21 beatdown at the hands of the Chargers.
Following the press conference in which Mr. Bowlen made the announcement, Erickson, the team’s director of video operations and football technology was sent to the locker room to do one last check of Coach Shanahan’s locker. (Football being football, the team had to make sure he didn’t leave with sensitive material in his possession.)
When he arrived at Shanahan’s locker, Erickson found a distraught Mr. Bowlen sitting in the coach’s place. Erickson remembers the heartbroken look on the owner’s face after having had to let go the man who had delivered his only world titles and whom he had essentially promised a job for life.
“He told me it was the hardest thing he ever had to do,” Erickson recalls, “but he said, ‘I think it’s what we have to do to win.'”
It took a full five years and a very tumultuous two-year stretch under Josh McDaniels, but Bowlen was eventually proved right. He recruited John Elway to run the football side of his business and the team returned to the Super Bowl for a sixth time under his guidance.
Even against difficult decisions and high cost, Mr. Bowlen was always committed to being the best and doing what was best for the fans. That’s what Merilatt and Erickson will remember as Bowlen is inducted into the Ring of Fame on Sunday.