Part 2: The Rumors

February 2022 – Renton, Washington

The phone never stops ringing these days at the Seahawks HQ in Renton.

The thing about an open secret is that, like an open marriage, there’s always someone about checking out your partner. Russell Wilson had an amazing run as Seahawks quarterback. From winning the job at training camp out from under $10 million free agent Matt Flynn, his tenure in Seattle has already guaranteed him a place in Canton. Why wouldn’t it have? Spending ten years setting all sorts of team records was fully deserving of entry into only the finest of opium dens, which Canton had in spades.

But just like Antony & Cleopatra, or Burt & Sally, the flames of passion burn hot but short, and by the end of their 10th season together it had become apparent to both sides that it would be best to move on. Oh sure, there would be the public platitudes and woeful laments, but it was time for them to go their separate ways. There had been rumblings that Russ had gone to ownership and asked – nay, demanded – that Pete Carroll and John Schneider be fired.

And then there were the leaks. Now, depending on which lickspittle you believe, and from which point in the season you read them, there was a cacophony of noise and confusion – none of which was particularly helpful, and all of it from qualified sirens paid by the amount they grind. Of course, the professional courtesans got right to work,

After a while, some of the less qualified strumpets climbed aboard the “nothing’s happening, and it sure is something!” bandwagon,

Until, finally, the King of the Trulls announced the definitive take on the whole sordid process,

But the volume was proof enough that divorce seemed both imminent and inevitable. The only hope was that an amicable split could be arranged that would satisfy them both – a hard thing to arrange in any divorce, let alone one that would mark the end of one of the most successful eras in team sports. And they needed to keep it quiet, lest they ruin the trade value of such an exchange. Knowing that they were trying to dump him would drastically lower the Seahawks asking price. As such, an aura of professionalism hung over their interactions.

The same could not be said about their relationship with Bobby Wagner. The last remaining member of the famed “Legion of Boom” had given the team his all, but realized partway through the season that he was more auditioning for new employers rather than earning a new contract from the only paymasters he’d ever known. It’s not that John Schneider didn’t care; he just couldn’t afford to as management. To build for the future in sports, you can’t afford to play with nostalgia. He knew that, Pete Carroll accepted that, and – despite all the acrimonious departures of his Legion compatriots – Bobby Wagner had finally come to realize that. You’re family until business gets in the way.

In their own way, the handling of these two veterans exposed the kind of management the Seahawks really had. What that held for the future was, for now, the future’s problem. The immediate state of affairs required turning lemons into lemonade, something current management had no real designs on.

February 2022 – Engelwood, Colorado

It had been a busy two weeks around the Broncos facility. Removing all traces of Vic Fangio had been surprisingly difficult.

Never had the office packed so many fanny packs. It’s not like they could have given them away, like so many Super Bowl XLIII t-shirts to Honduran orphans. These were some kind of man-bag for carrying both his radio equipment and snacks. They served no purpose, and made him look goofier than The Rock.

In any event, the pallor of failure that had descended upon the facility for now seemed removed. The new coach, Nathaniel Hackett, seemed a breath of fresh air, and not just because he didn’t smell of deep dish like the last guy.

Also, the team was up for sale, so clearing out Fangio’s garbage was the start of a true spring cleaning that would hopefully result in new owner, new directions, and – especially for Betsy at the main desk – new furniture. In his declining years, Pat Bowlen couldn’t handle change, so the office was forced to keep things as they were, because the Old Man couldn’t take surprises. Usually, he liked to spend his days home at the ranch, watching TV or reliving the glory days he could remember with his favorite old horse, the one who has been by his side since day one of his ownership

George Paton had been stomping around the facility for a few weeks, muttering to himself about having to find “the right one”. The franchise had grown stale, and this was his chance to make a big splash. After all, the others in the AFC West were all riding high with their choices; hell – even Mark Davis had failed his way into the playoffs with Derek Carr and without Jon Gruden. Paton drooled over the prospect of a new coach and a fancy new QB. He didn’t think he’d face issues from management, so long as he got the job done before the sale. He knew those Wal-Mart people moved fast – he remembered watching the speed at which Stan Kroenke came in and dismantled the Rams, bundling them up and shipping off to LA with nothing but dust and court cases in their wake.

That’s why, with Elway out to pasture, and the fist of management not yet looming over him, he felt free to survey the landscape of the NFL for his once and future King. Why, even a callet from the local area had come across a rumor too good to be true that might even bring Paton to par with the great & sainted Elway,