ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As the Broncos wrapped up their offseason program on Wednesday, Mike McGlinchey knows what must come next.
When the team returns for training camp, the focus cannot be in the distance or on picking up where it left off following a successful 2025 season.
Instead, the emphasis must be in the minutiae and in the daily effort of again building a championship-worthy team.
"Nothing about the year before matters to this one," McGlinchey said Wednesday. "Nothing about what we accomplished last year has anything to do with what we're doing moving forward. … I still need to learn. I'm going into Year 9; I still have things I need to improve on. I still have things I need to learn here. If everybody can do that and come in trying to improve every single day, the success will come.
"It's about day-in and day-out work. It's about daily goals. It's not about the overarching picture of a Super Bowl or anything like that. It's about what's in front of your face right now. If we can keep doing that for seven, eight straight months, we'll be where we want to be."
Head Coach Sean Payton, who said he liked where the team is at in the process of installing its system, echoed McGlinchey's sentiment of what awaits later this summer.
"There's a lot of work still ahead," Payton said Wednesday.
While the Broncos' success from a year ago won't have an impact on the 2026 team, McGlinchey did acknowledge the motivation that a heartbreaking postseason loss can provide a team.
"They hurt," McGlinchey said of the losses. "They all hurt. … But the idea is to let it motivate you moving forward. There's only one team that winds up being happy at the end of the year. All the other 31 are just finding a way to get there. That's what we're going to do. The only thing to do and the only response possible is to put your head down and keep working for it."
BACK IN THE HUDDLE
Quarterback Bo Nix returned to practice during minicamp, and McGlinchey spoke highly of how Nix responded to last season's injury — and the boost his return can provide to the team.
"Obviously, it was a really hard situation for all of us," McGlinchey said. "You work so hard to achieve the opportunity to play late in the year, and he didn't get to participate, and that stinks. A bunch of us live here full time, and we train here all year — and he's been here every single day grinding and grinding and grinding to make sure he is ready to go. Watching him and his work ethic and his spirit as he's gone through this has been awesome. I'm really excited to see what he's going to do moving forward, and [it] gives us a lot of juice seeing [No.] 10 in the huddle when he's across from you."
