National Football League

Xanders get more responsibility, accountability

Published Jan. 6, 2011 9:40 p.m. ET

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Brian Xanders is getting more responsibility and accountability in the Denver Broncos' new management structure.

John Elway's first decision as the team's new football czar was to retain Xanders, who was Denver's general manager in name only during the Josh McDaniels era, and empower him with more say on personnel matters.

Elway didn't even consider any other candidates for the job, saying he ''deserved a chance.''

''We talked about that and really thought that Brian deserved a chance,'' said Elway, who picked Xanders' brain in a series of meetings over the last few weeks even as his own role as the team's executive vice president was being defined.

Elway said Xanders' system is a medley of those he learned over the years in the NFL that proved successful, and ''I believe he deserves that opportunity to use that system and obviously he is going to be accountable. So, he will work hard and be diligent about it and I am confident that it will work out.''

Xanders will report to Elway in the Broncos' new power structure, but Xanders will be the team's main authority on the draft and roster decisions.

''Brian is a guy that is smart, he is organized, he is loyal, he is experienced, he has worked for a lot of great people and understands the game of football,'' Elway said. ''He was a player, he coached on offense, defense and has been in many personnel situations and he is going to lead up the personnel department.''

Xanders ''was awarded that GM title but never (was) really given that chance to be the general manager of the Denver Broncos,'' Elway noted. ''He is going to be awarded that chance.''

''I'm excited because I've been here three years, this is my fourth season coming up, to have a bigger role in the say of what we're going to do and go from there,'' Xanders said Wednesday. ''We're going to do the best with what we have and the opportunities that we get.''

Xanders survived McDaniels' ouster because team president Joe Ellis, owner Pat Bowlen and Elway all placed the blame for the Broncos' roster deficiencies on McDaniels, who was fired last month with the team free-falling to the worst finish it its history and reeling from the Spygate II videotape scandal.

''It turned into a one-man show there,'' Elway said, noting he doesn't hold the current state of the roster against Xanders. ''Brian is a guy where I appreciate what he did: he respected the chain of command.''

The former Broncos coach had final say on personnel matters during his 22 months on the job, which were marked by a series of miscalculations in free agency and blunders in the draft and in trades that siphoned talented players and draft picks from the team.

Ellis has said the Broncos erred in giving McDaniels so much power so soon and in not sharing the load with Xanders, who was hired by Mike Shanahan.

''We worked together,'' Xanders said, ''but some things didn't work out as planned in the way the decisions were made. But I respected the organization in the way it was structured.''

Xanders wasn't so sure of his future in Denver when McDaniels was fired a month ago.

''In the NFL, anything can happen, and I was ready for anything. I was happy for the opportunity that I've had here to work for this franchise after working in Atlanta for so long,'' Xanders said. ''I never had any anxiety about the future because I trust in my career and whatever happens happens, and it worked out for the best.''

The Broncos have just a half-dozen picks in the NFL draft in April, including the second overall selection, which the team might try to trade to accumulate more picks, especially following the announcement Thursday by Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck that he's staying in school.

Luck had been considered a lock to go to Carolina with the top overall pick, and now the Panthers will have several defensive players from which to choose that the Broncos figured to get first crack at.

''Unfortunately, we're there and we have the No. 2 pick. That's not where we wanted to be, but we're going to do the best we can with the pick. The questions are, 'Are we going to trade back or are we going to take it?' '' Xanders said. ''We're going to make the best decisions for the Denver Broncos.''

The Broncos hold three of the top 50 picks in the draft, and ''we've got to nail those and really hit on impact players for the future,'' Xanders said.

McDaniels, a former New England assistant, traded away picks for several former Patriots who were past their prime and included two picks along with Peyton Hillis in his deal with Cleveland for Brady Quinn last March when he had already decided to make a move for Tim Tebow on draft night, which cost him three more picks.

Xanders values draft picks like gold as the Broncos embark on their rebuilding project.

''We're going to try to keep and get as many draft picks as we can,'' Xanders said. ''Obviously, with some trades, there's compensation with it. But big picture, the goal is to build through the draft.''

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