John Elway clarified comments he made last week calling his team "soft," which was roundly rebuffed by his players following the team's sixth straight loss of the season.
"I was talking about everybody in the organization, and the track record we've had..." Elway told Orange & Blue Radio on Tuesday. "When you've had success sometimes you get soft. I'd put myself at the front. ... I knew before I said it that some guys were not gonna like that."
The players certainly didn't like being called soft, but most recognized the message Elway was sending.
"Everybody in this organization is accountable for how we're playing right now. Ain't nothing soft in my bones," corner Chris Harris said after the team's loss to Cincinnati.
Elway certainly has a large hand in the Broncos' current struggles after several poor draft classes and failure to find a franchise quarterback to take over for Peyton Manning.
Following the latest loss, the Broncos fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, who received criticism from some within the organization regarding a playbook believed to be unwieldy. The team will also hand the starting quarterback reins over to Paxton Lynch, NFL Network's James Palmer reported on Tuesday.
