Broncos GM search: George Paton leaves Denver without a deal.
History tells us that when John Elway gets “his guy” in the building, they don’t leave without a deal.
That’s not the case 100 percent of the time, but more often than not, if Elway has a candidate in mind, deals get done.
That was the case with their pursuit of head coach Vic Fangio, whose interview in Chicago back in 2019 was scheduled for the morning before the Broncos canceled flight plans to meet with Fangio even longer.
While absolutely nothing is finalized at this point, Mike Klis has a report that George Paton did, in fact, leave Denver without a contract in place and has returned to Minneapolis.
After his in-person interview with Broncos yesterday, George Paton flew back to Minneapolis last night per source. Still going through process. More talks expected. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) January 13, 2021
It’s critical not to overreact to anything because this is a massive decision not only for the Denver Broncos but for Paton as well if he’s going to uproot his life and job in Minnesota and take on a GM job in Denver, a position he has been extremely picky about over the last 10 years.
The fact that the Broncos also interviewed candidate Terry Fontenot for a second time on Tuesday (via Zoom) could give us the context we need about this meeting with Paton.
Do the Broncos favor Fontenot, who already apparently “leap-frogged” a former favorite for the position in Chicago’s Champ Kelly?
It’s very much a possibility at this point, but who knows?
It could be Paton went home to get a fresh suit. Don’t want another Fangio. (Where was the Zoom era when Vic needed it?) Still a good chance Paton is the Broncos guy. #9sports https://t.co/JVB9DtJIgS
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) January 13, 2021
Paton has been dubbed the candidate to beat in this GM search, and just like Mike Munchak in 2019 for the head coaching position, it’s possible that Terry Fontenot has brought the Broncos exactly what they had hoped for throughout the interview process.
Fontenot is a younger candidate than Paton and has essentially ascended to the same exact position within the Saints’ front office as Paton has in Minnesota with the Vikings.
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With Paton having the distinct advantage of an in-person interview and clearly having an interest in the job, it is pretty telling that he left Denver completely without an agreement in place.