Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Denver Broncos general manager John Elway continues to do damage control in the wake of Vance Joseph's disappointing two-year stint as head coach.

Per NBC Sports' Peter King, Elway said he "was wrong" to hire Joseph in January 2017 and has taken key lessons from that process moving forward:

"I've probably pre-drawn my thought process going in before. I talked to [Vance Joseph] before the process a couple of years ago, and knew him, and going in, I had an idea that he was kind of our guy. I admit it. I was wrong on that one. I don't like to say it out loud because I don't want to offend VJ, who is a good football coach. But things didn't work out."

The Broncos posted consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1971 and 1972, going 11-21 under Joseph's watch.

After Joseph was fired by the Broncos on Dec. 31, Elway took the blame for the team's struggles.

"The first guy I look at is the guy in the mirror—that's me—and I'm just as responsible for this, if not more than anybody else because it's my job to make sure we win more football games," Elway told reporters during his end-of-season press conference.

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The Broncos hired Vic Fangio as head coach on Jan. 10. The 60-year-old spent the previous four seasons as defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, who led the NFL in points allowed (17.7 per game) and ranked third in yards allowed (299.7 per game) in 2018.

Denver hasn't made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50 after the 2015 season.