Paul Tagliabue calls Pat Bowlen ‘top five’ NFL owner
By Hayden Kane
Denver Broncos’ owner Pat Bowlen has had an adventurous time of things in the 21st century. Coming off two Super Bowl victories before John Elway rode off into the sunset, Bowlen guided the Broncos through the firing of Mike Shanahan, the tenures of Brian Griese, Jay Cutler, and Timothy Richard Tebow at quarterback, the Josh McDaniels fiasco, the hiring of Elway as Executive VP, and finally the signing of Peyton Manning.
Eventful though it has been, Bowlen remains largely behind the scenes. He has respect of his colleagues, something that former commissioner Paul Tagliabue spoke about on Tuesday (quotes from the Denver Post):
"I’m so happy for Pat. He’s probably one of the top five owners that I’ve ever dealt with…I told Joe Ellis: You think about quarterbacks, who are the best five? Take your pick. Marino. Elway. Montana. Brady. Peyton. Steve Young. Johnny Unitas.“Same thing with owners. I’m clear Pat’s one of the top five. I’m not going to start picking the other four but you can put the Mara family in there. The beauty of Pat was when he first came in he said there’s a lot you don’t know and you’ve got to listen. He did that. He very quickly became very influential.”"
Bowlen is hoping to see his Denver Broncos earn a third ring under his watch when they take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.