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When the Walton-Penner Family purchased the Denver Broncos in 2022, they inherited an existing staff and roster just ahead of the 2022 season.
The owners began to make their mark on the team in 2023 when they hired coach Sean Payton. He later began reshaping the roster, notably moving on from quarterback Russell Wilson in 2024 and drafting Bo Nix.
In the two years since the owners hired Payton, Denver has improved from 8-9 to 10-7. The Broncos qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2015 in Payton’s second year on the job.
There’s no question that the team is trending in the right direction.
“I thought Sean did a terrific job leading a young team,” team owner/CEO Greg Penner said Wednesday. “He has really continued to build a winning culture, which is critical for the future. It was great to see a number of young players, both draft picks, second-year players and third-year players — as well as some of our free agents that came on board during the offseason — step up. That’s a testament to George [Paton] and his staff.
“[Additionally], this year we were top-five in terms of health and that is a big turnaround from where we were a couple of years ago. Beau Lowery and his whole group are doing a terrific job.”
Penner is pleased with the progress so far, but he’s not satisfied.
“The results of this last Sunday were not what we were hoping for or expecting, but I think the experience that the young team got will be critical for the future,” Penner said. “I will say that while we are incredibly pleased with the progress and number of accomplishments this year, we don’t at all feel like we are satisfied with where we are. We know that this offseason will be a critical one for us to build for the future.
“The last thing that I will just say is to Broncos Country: Our fans are fantastic. They had a long stretch of where we tried their patience, and we feel like we are starting to deliver for them. Our main message to them is we have our sights set really high and we are going to be doing everything we can to continue to build a great team and compete for championships.”
The Broncos last reached a championship in 2015 when they beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Penner has made it clear that getting back to a title game is the club’s objective. Progress has been made, but there’s more work to be done.