Calls to fire Broncos GM George Paton are premature
Some in Broncos Country think that the team needs to move on from General Manager George Paton, but calls for him to be fired are premature. Knee-jerk, emotionally driven reactions and opinions after what the Broncos have gone through in 2022 are understandable.
Nathaniel Hackett should have been fired weeks ago, yes, that is perfectly valid. However, there have been two other reactions I’ve seen from people regarding Russell Wilson and George Paton. Many have said that George Paton needs to be fired for signing Wilson to an extension and hiring Nathaniel Hackett.
To me, calls to fire Paton are extremely premature. Firstly, just because he signed Wilson to an extension does not mean it was the wrong thing to do. Wilson was traded for to be here for a while, and Paton did that.
Also, perhaps the coach + quarterback that Denver is using isn’t compatible. Perhaps Wilson will end up playing like his old self with a different offensive coaching staff. Let’s not assume that Russell Wilson is washed up as many have said until Denver brings in a more competent staff.
Secondly, GMs in the NFL don’t get fired after two seasons. It simply does not happen and is not fair to the GMs themselves. Building a competitive team takes time, in some cases years. GMs are responsible for their draft classes, and those classes often need a couple of years to hit their stride, so you cannot assess a huge part of their job in such a short period of time.
Secondly, free agency signings could also take time to develop into something. Many free agents are often signed for multiple years which allows the GM to correct the mistake if it was a bad signing or even give them a raise or an extension if they play well. That process takes multiple years.
As for the quarterback side of things, seeing what you have in a quarterback may also take years. This is especially true for GMs who pick a quarterback high in the NFL draft. Look at Josh Allen, for example. He didn’t hit his stride in the league until year three, and during his first two years, he was objectively the most inaccurate QB in the NFL.
Would it have been fair to fire Brandon Beane, Buffalo’s GM, after year two of Josh Allen? It does not make sense and that is not how good teams in the NFL are made. George Paton falls into the same scenarios I mentioned.
Calls to fire him are a bit too premature.