Since 2016, the Denver Broncos have spent season after season that even the most kindhearted, optimistic observer would describe as mediocre at best.
The team has not made the playoffs since 2015, had a winning season since 2016, and will be opening the season with a new head coach for the third time in six seasons (fourth time if interim Jerry Rosburg is considered). A team that fielded the hottest offense in the league a decade ago struggled to exceed scoring 20 points for most of this past season.
Therefore, swift and extreme changes had to be made, led primarily by new team CEO Greg Penner and the Walton-Penner ownership group, which included replacing failed prior head coach Nathaniel Hackett with Super Bowl winner Sean Payton and then allowing Payton, in conjunction with general manager George Paton, to upgrade glaring weak spots on the roster in hopes of a successful rebuild.