Greg Penner’s big shot to win over Broncos Country has already arrived

Five short months.

That’s how long it took for Broncos owner / CEO Greg Penner to reach a crossroads that will determine how this fanbase will perceive him for a long, long time. And let’s be clear from the jump: the disastrous 2022 season in Denver wasn’t Penner’s fault. Not at all.

He didn’t hire general manager George Paton or former head coach Nathaniel Hackett. And he didn’t pull the trigger on the Russell Wilson trade. Penner was a wealthy, private citizen when the three moves went down. His father-in-law, Robson Walton, was simply a candidate to buy the Broncos, and the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group (WPFOG) had no say in those decisions.

When the team officially changed hands in August, no one could have imagined Penner would have to make so many important choices so quickly. The consensus was the Broncos were set for years. Penner could stay relatively anonymous as Hackett, Wilson and Paton brought a Lombardi or two back to Denver. He could hoist the trophy on the stage, as fans said “oh yeah, that guy is our new owner.”

It’s funny how fast things change.

Penner’s been thrust into a spotlight he probably never envisioned. Heck, no one did. His name is discussed on 104.3 The Fan and written about around town nearly every day. The Broncos didn’t have a true owner for years after the late, great Pat Bowlen stepped away for health reasons in 2014. The trust that ran the team did a nice job, but it’s unclear how much power they had to make monumental changes.

Those days are long gone. Penner’s in charge and made that perfectly clear when he fired Hackett with two games to go in the season. Embarrass Broncos Country on a national stage on Christmas Day? See ya later. Penner proved he’s not messing around, a move fans rightfully applauded.

There have been other good things from the WPFOG as well. Empower Field at Mile High will receive $100 million in renovations this offseason. Team president Damani Leech seems like a fantastic hire. And Penner spent a cool $400,000 to have the turf replaced at the stadium before a meaningless Week 18 game with the Chargers.

But all those pale in comparison to the task at hand now. Penner will lead the coaching search, and must hit a home run with the new guy. A single or double won’t do, Penner has to blast the ball out of the stadium like he’s a first baseman during the steroid era. This needs to be a 500-foot moonshot.

It will shape how Broncos Country views Penner for a decade, perhaps longer. New grass on the field is neat. A head coach that throws us multiple parades is better. Penner needs to find the next Mike Shanahan or Gary Kubiak; certainly not the next Vance Joseph or Hackett.

That mission comes with pressure. When the WPFOG bought the team they knew it would have challenges, but also probably thought it would be fun. Nothing about the 2022 season was fun. And now the heat is cranked up to the max. Penner can’t get this wrong.

So, whether the hire be Jim Harbaugh, Sean Payton or someone else, it better work out. And working out isn’t just a playoff berth here or there, it’s a championship or two. That’s the standard this city expects, and that’s the standard the next head coach will need to deliver.

Think about the owners around the NFL. Some are beloved like Robert Kraft, while others are loathed like Dan Snyder. Penner is nowhere close to finding his category, at least not yet. It’s unlikely he’ll fall in either extreme, but owners matter in sports, particularly in this league.

Penner’s done everything right so far. However, his biggest challenge is already here. Let’s hope it’s the toughest decision he faces for the next dozen years, because that would mean Penner got it right — something he simply has to do.

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