Report: Adam Peters, Champ Kelly Among Candidates to Become New Broncos GM

Denver could move quickly to succeed John Elway.

Monday's bombshell that John Elway is stepping down as the Denver Broncos' general manager facilitated an early list of potential replacement candidates — featuring two widely-touted front-runners.

Echoing local reports, NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo identified  San Francisco 49ers vice president of player personnel Adam Peters and Chicago Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly as names to watch in Denver's sudden GM search.

From "The Aftermath" on @nflnetwork: Many have already begun to connect former #Broncos personnel guys Champ Kelly and Adam Peters to Denver for their vacant GM gig. Makes sense. pic.twitter.com/am4HWbWWl5

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 4, 2021

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If Peters seems familiar ... well, that's because he should. He originally joined the Broncos in 2009, serving as a regional scout following similar duties with the New England Patriots. He was promoted to national scout in 2011, assistant director of college scouting in 2014, and director of college scouting in 2016.

That's when the 49ers and then-new GM, former Broncos safety John Lynch, came calling, and Elway reluctantly allowed his right-hand man to explore greener pastures.

“… He’s very good at what he does and I hate losing him," Elway told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2017. "But I also know that it’s a great opportunity for him as far as the responsibilities that he was going to gain in San Francisco. But also I know that he’s going to be able to go and help John.

“If it was anyone else, I probably wouldn’t have [allowed him to leave]. But I know it’s a great opportunity for Adam and he’ll be a tremendous help to John.”

Kelly also has Broncos ties, breaking into the business with the organization in 2007 as a northeast college scout. He was elevated to assistant coordinator of pro and college scouting the following year and worked his way up to assistant director of pro personnel in 2010. The Bears hired Kelly as director of pro scouting in 2015 and bumped him to his current title in 2017.

The Broncos are expected to move quickly to land their next GM, who will have total control of the roster and operate "hand-in-hand" with retained head coach Vic Fangio.

"I think we want to get on it. Obviously, there's a lot of jobs open. ... The idea is to get started rather quickly," Elway said in a Monday afternoon press conference.

In addition to Peters and Kelly, plugged-in Broncos writer Woody Paige suggested New Orleans' Terry Fontenot, former Chiefs and Browns GM John Dorsey, and former Texans GM Rick Smith as possible candidates to succeed Elway. Paige reported that Smith is "likely" to interview for the position.

Follow Zack on Twitter @KelbermanNFL and @MileHighHuddle