WARE, U.K. — The juxtaposition is striking.
Three years ago in London, co-owner Greg Penner stood at the Barrowboy and Banker restaurant and supported a hapless coach and defended a washed-up quarterback. The enormity of the challenge and organizational layers of dysfunction were laid bare as Penner awkwardly navigated explanations about a “disappointing” season two months into the new ownership group’s stewardship.
Friday, Penner comfortably walked up to the microphone at a North London manor and country club, praised the culture established by Sean Payton, beamed with pride over the team’s upset of the Eagles, the franchise’s biggest win since Super Bowl 50, and discussed how the team is prepared to handle goals that extend beyond getting blown out in a first-round playoff game.
“We’re on a different trajectory,” Penner said. “The roster’s different, leadership’s different, so yes, it is an interesting inflection point.”
Actually, it is simpler than that.
The Broncos would not be in this position without the evolution and involvement of Greg and Carrie Walton Penner.
When Greg Penner talked three years ago at the roiling London eatery, it sounded like top-grade nonsense to those of us who covered the team closely and talked to players in the locker room.
Hackett was more clueless than Alicia Silverstone. He made a case to be fired with an opening-night field goal attempt and displayed incompetence that forced Broncos Country to count down the play clock. Russell Wilson starred in a bad reality show, his distance from teammates and attempts to reinvent himself as a pocket-passer an endless source of cringe.
Penner sticking up for them created concern that maybe the new owners did not get it, that they would advocate organizational (butt)-covering in the face of logic. We already had the Monforts and Rockies for that.
Three years later, the idyllic setting reframed the club’s standing as NFL royalty again. It was assumed when the Penners hired Sean Payton that they would let him run the football operations, occasionally popping their head in the door to ask how much he wanted to spend in free agency.
This could not be further from reality. The Penners are fully informed, engaged and present. They took over an organization that was rudderless and created an environment of accountability across the football and business operations.
If Payton is to be believed — and any job search involves riddles and tall tales — the presence of the Penners sold him on the Broncos. Greg Penner wanted a coach with a strong personality and belief system to set the tone for the organization. Payton is not for everyone, but Penner appreciates the dynamic tension the coach creates.
Payton has power, but he reports to Penner. And that has made him better.
“There’s a ton of different things that I’ve had a chance to learn from watching him. So it’s been really good,” Payton said Friday. “… I think what he’s looking for it’s up to us to provide that.”
Penner is a quick learner, hardly a surprise for someone who is the chairman of the Walmart board of directors. He asks the right questions without meddling. He does not tell Payton and general manager George Paton who to draft or sign in free agency. But he wants to know why.
That is a constant thread in his leadership. He believes the best solutions are found through a deeper understanding of mechanisms and problems.
Don’t believe it? Well, upon arriving in London after a short sporting visit in Scotland, Penner did not find the nearest town car to escort him to the city. He milled around the team’s country hotel Tuesday, attended a team meeting Wednesday and talked shop over meals with Payton and Paton.
He is with his team. It is another example of how the Penners, plural, are all in.
“You always feel like, as players, that they are going to give us an advantage, especially with stuff off the field. We have all the stuff nutritionally we could ever ask for. And they have been able to hire everyone they wanted, and if not, everyone is in the right place,” veteran tight end Adam Trautman said. “You are super comfortable, and guys like coming to work. And that’s a reflection of ownership. We get what we want to help us succeed. Which is awesome.”
This is not normal.
Look only to the Bengals, Panthers, Browns and Jets, Sunday’s opponent, for examples of what can go wrong with owners with short pockets, short tempers and/or outsized influence from the unqualified and incompetent.
Since buying the team in 2022, the Penners have hired Payton, overseen the end of an eight-year playoff drought, financed the construction of a $175 million headquarters renovation in Dove Valley, announced plans for a new stadium, unveiled new uniforms, revamped the community and alumni programs, and landed six NFL ownership committee assignments.
Three years ago, Penner addressed the media here informally in a restaurant basement. On Wednesday, he spoke a Bo Nix throw from a golf course.
In between London trips, the Penners have revitalized the franchise. Now, the only thing missing is a championship.
“I think our team has really embraced (the expectations),” Penner said. “These are guys that want to be successful, and they’re not afraid of that or doing the work that’s required every week to get there and achieve our objectives.”
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