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Inside Kelly Kleine's historic rise to lead Denver's football ops

KELLY KLEINE HAS half an hour to catch her breath and sip a latte before practice begins at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. It's early February, and she's in her uniform of athleisure, a white baseball cap and red manicured nails.

Her upbeat demeanor masks any hint of exhaustion after spending the previous three weeks crisscrossing the United States in search of the Denver Broncos' next head coach.

As Denver's executive director of football operations and special adviser to general manager George Paton, Kleine was part of a six-person team that interviewed 10 candidates in 19 cities before ultimately landing on Nathaniel Hackett.