Elway will ...
Posted: Thursday March 11, 1999 10:35 AM
We're now 40 days and 40 nights from John Elway's virtuoso performance in Super Bowl 33. And we still don't know if it was his last. But culled together from close friends and associates, here's what we do know about Elway's future.
1. Whereas it was a 95 percent chance on the night of the Super Bowl that Elway was going to retire, one of his confidants says now it's probably 60-40 he'll quit. But the decision hasn't dominated his offseason, and he's barely spoken a sentence with wife Janet about it.
2. The idea of doing something no quarterback has ever done appeals mightily to Elway. No one's ever won three in a row, and Denver is the clear favorite to do that.
3. One teammate said recently he'd bet a million dollars that Elway will return. That echoes what most of his teammates are saying. But most of his teammates haven't spent significant time with Elway this offseason, and they don't really know.
4. The trade of quarterback prospect Jeff Lewis to Carolina has no link to Elway's future plans. The Broncos would have lost Lewis in free-agency next year anyway.
5. Finally, and what may put Elway over the top: There's nothing else he really longs to do. ABC would be interested in talking to him about the vacant third seat in the Monday Night Football booth, and that might be enticing for Elway. But most other TV jobs don't float his boat. He may go into the sports ownership business with Bronco owner Pat Bowlen. But none of these things are must-do items on Elway's list.
The Broncos expect to hear from Elway before the club's offseason training program starts in three weeks.
Three other NFL news bites
• The Cowboys might move one of the three best left tackles in football, Larry Allen, back to his natural home at guard. In turn, they'd put Flozell Adams, the precocious second-year tackle, in Allen's place. The theory there is these are the best long-term positions for each player.
• More and more Cade McNown is climbing the draft ladder, and the UCLA quarterback now could be a match for Cincinnati if the Bengals trade down to No. 11 in the first round with Minnesota.
• Look for the Jets to go to the 3-4 defense full time this year now that they've fortified their linebacking corps with the addition of Roman Phifer and this week's re-signing of solid middle man Dwayne Gordon. Now Gordon and Bryan Cox could team to play inside, and Phifer could become the pass-rusher from the outside some scouts have always thought he could be.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN's NFL Preview.
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