"He put his mark on everyone in the building. John Elway and Joe Ellis, they know Mr. Bowlen inside and out. They know his wishes. They know exactly how they want things done. They've done an admirable job of trying to keep everything the way it was exactly when Mr. Bowlen was here. Now we just need the wins to go with that.

"It meant the world to me that Joe invited me to be a part of that special moment [to tell Mr. Bowlen he'd been chosen as a Contributor finalist]. When I see him, I almost always tear up, just wishing that he could really, fully understand everything that's going on now — and that he could enjoy people celebrating him, because he was always the one celebrating everyone else and putting them up on a pedestal. I wish he could enjoy us putting him up on a pedestal now.