One of the big storylines of the Denver Broncos offseason was a change that reached the desk of owner and CEO Greg Penner.
That was Broncos head coach Sean Payton giving up play-calling duties to Davis Webb, Denver’s new OC after he was promoted and Joe Lombardi was let go.
At the NFL annual meeting in Arizona on Monday, Penner was asked about the switch. Payton’s called offensive plays for a long, long time, but now that duty will be handed to the rising star Webb.
“I think Sean always wants to do what’s in the best interest of his team and the Broncos organization,” Penner said. “He and I obviously talked about it, but this was entirely, 100 percent his decision. And I think it’s going to be, again, we’ve got a lot of confidence in Davis and I think Sean’s going to be very supportive of him.”
It’s good to know that Greg Penner didn’t push Payton into the decision, but rather the two collaborated and then Payton ultimately decided it was for the best.
And Webb had plenty of interest elsewhere in the NFL, with some head-coaching interviews and potentially a different OC gig. Penner was asked about wanting to keep him in Denver — something they got done.
“As you get more successful, you’re going to become a place and an organization that other teams want to come hire your folks. And so we put a priority on retaining a number of those and Davis Webb was one of them. We’re excited to have him in that role and have a lot of confidence in him,” Penner said.
Webb might be a head coach one day, perhaps even with the Broncos, but for now he’ll be an offensive coordinator tasked with turning a good offense into a great one.
But it’s clear that Greg Penner didn’t force Payton into this change, rather he let the head coach decide what was best. At the end of the day, that’s the mark of a top CEO, and the Broncos certainly have one.