Renck: Broncos’ biggest turnaround? GM George Paton. He should have been fired. Now, give him his flowers

George Paton should have been fired Now he deserves his flowers Of all the stunning improvements experienced by the Broncos over the past two seasons one transformation has gone largely unnoticed It doesn t involve a member like Jonathon Cooper Or a formerly embattled coach like defensive coordinator Vance Joseph It is the remarkable rebound by Paton You remember him He was John Elway s handpicked general manager in He hired Nathaniel Hackett and traded for Russell Wilson two of the biggest embarrassments in Broncos history Because of the worst things that happened Paton has stitched together Denver s best roster since So as this unit embraces Super Bowl expectations it is time to thank Paton Seriously When the Broncos collapsed into chaos in with Hackett failing to finish his first season and Wilson steering the league s lowest-scoring offense Paton was miscast He looked like a former assistant GM who wasn t ready for the big chair or capable of surviving the Broncos Shakespearean ownership drama Paton remained well-respected in league circles But Broncos Country was ready for someone else anybody really to get a shot at reviving the once-proud franchise Instead co-owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner did the unthinkable They did not can Paton at the end of the season They manifested patience reserving judgment while leaning on his experience and contacts to confront the coaching search If Paton were an egomaniac like so various pro execs he would have directed his bosses toward a candidate he knew well like say Dan Quinn Related Articles Five Broncos with the bulk at stake in preseason finale at New Orleans Saints Inside Broncos rookie Jahdae Barron s early NFL ups and downs A plant doesn t grow in one day Broncos Journal P J Locke ready to start swinging after back surgery cast doubt on career Sean Payton Broncos had multiple more than serious suitors for WR Devaughn Vele Air Force product Jordan Jackson working his tail off to hold Broncos roster spot Humility though defined him when his career was at its lowest point Paton valued winning over self-preservation And when the jockeying between Jim Harbaugh DeMeco Ryans and Sean Payton ended he signed off on the former Saints boss It was assumed Payton s arrival meant Paton would be let go after the season so the coach could bring in one of his own guys Then something amazing happened Payton let it play out and detected out he liked working with Paton Their different personalities Sean is volatile George unassuming created an equilibrium Payton established the lifestyle And Paton executed his vision a role he is bulk assured with given his background Payton is the face and the voice the one responsible for giving the organization its swagger Paton is the one behind the camera working in the shadows Paton owned up to his mistakes on Hackett and Wilson He got it so wrong with quarterback and coach But he still had a history of being right as a scout Look at the draft class with Pat Surtain Quinn Meinerz and Jonathon Cooper Or the selections of Nik Bonitto and Luke Wattenberg His process could withstand failure And it has blossomed with Payton How a multitude of teams are deeper than the Broncos right now Payton makes it easy to identify players because of his baselines for size and speed at every position and his desire to have no less than a C learner As such Paton and his scouts know what they want and what questions to ask when they go to schools and talk to sources Can a athlete mentally handle the Broncos schemes If the answer is a nervous maybe or not really they pass Payton has a type smart competitive spirit loves football It has led Paton to create a Broncos template a vision communicated so clearly that a since-promoted intern unearthed edge rusher Deondra Tillman from the UFL before last season None of this would matter if Paton desired credit for the Broncos ending their eight-year playoff drought He is confident in what he does and doesn t care if Payton grabs the headlines Elway hired Paton for his evaluation acumen The Vikings his last employer ranked among the league leaders in second contracts for players during his time there As much as free agency intoxicates winning organizations nail the draft It creates sustainability Paton is good at this And so is Payton They have bonded over their love for all things personnel the minutiae in the margins It is not uncommon for the pair to watch games of draftable players for a full week together before scouts gather to order the board This has developed a trust And give Paton credit for this He can deal with Payton In episode you haven t noticed the coach is not for everyone He starts fires He says things that would make greater part GMs cringe Remember when Payton returned from Santa Clara with his Things I Hate About The Bay Area list It was obnoxious A big-headed GM would have called him into the office and explained him to keep his TripAdvisor ratings to himself Instead Paton gets Payton He knows that within the complaints there are kernels of truth If this organization wants to win a championship it must be elite at everything including not booking a hotel next to Saxl Rose s Jazz Festival By not overreacting Paton validates Payton s concerns This is how two men connected only loosely by former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer have formed such a strong partnership It is hard to imagine how they got here hard to believe that the owners gave Paton grace that led to Payton giving him a chance Even as the Broncos have become a sexy pick to unseat the Chiefs Paton is not seeking attention He has an office overlooking the practice field Asking around no one can remember ever seeing him on that balcony That s because he is invariably on the grass Where real scouts stand And flowers grow Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis