Growing up a die-hard Browns fan in Canton, Mark Thewes had his heart repeatedly ripped out by legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway.
Now Thewes is one of Elway’s top lieutenants as director of team administration for the Broncos, who’ll face the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Thewes was in grade school when Elway, who’s in his fifth season as Denver’s executive vice president of football operations and general manager, started his run of three victories in AFC title games against the Browns in the late 1980s.
He still occasionally jokes with Elway about “the pain he caused.” Of course, it’ll be easier to forgive and forget if the two men can win a Super Bowl together. The Broncos advanced to the big game two seasons ago but fell to the Seattle Seahawks 43-8.
“The opportunity to go to two in three years is pretty unique,” Thewes, 39, said during a recent phone interview from California. “Obviously, the last one didn’t end the way we wanted it to, and to be able to get back basically two years later, we’re just very fortunate and excited for Sunday.”
Every NFL franchise depends on people to do important work behind the scenes, and Thewes is one of those guys. He’s essentially a jack-of-all-trades who helps Elway deal with virtually everything on his plate.
“I try to just make things easier for John to kind of focus on the bigger things and the things that he needs to be focusing on,” said Thewes, a graduate of Canton McKinley High School. “I’m basically just trying to make life a little bit easier for him.”
Thewes serves as the Broncos’ liaison to the league office to ensure compliance with the collective bargaining agreement, roster management and reporting, scheduling, officiating and player discipline. He conducts contract analysis, helps new players get up to speed within the organization and assists in the coaches’ booth on game days.
Last year, Thewes joined Elway and three other executives in interviews during the team’s head-coaching search that resulted in the hiring of Gary Kubiak.
But throwing to the wide receivers in practice is his favorite part of the job.
“That’s always a highlight of the day,” he said.
It’s also a flashback to his playing days.
The youngest of Gil and Linda Thewes’ three children, Mark played baseball, basketball and football for Canton McKinley, then baseball at Miami University, where he graduated before earning a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University.
Thewes played high school football for one season, as a senior, and became a reliable receiver for friend and then-quarterback Josh McDaniels, the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots and former head coach of the Broncos.
After interning with the Browns and handling marketing and sponsorships for them as a full-time employee from 2000-04, Thewes worked for sports agency GMR Marketing in Charlotte, N.C., until McDaniels hired him as the Broncos’ assistant to the head coach in 2009.
Despite the Broncos firing McDaniels in late 2010 and undergoing other significant changes, including the hiring of Elway in early 2011, Thewes has managed to prove his value and transition into the role he’s held for three seasons.
“Mark does a tremendous job handling our team administration,” Elway said. “He is my right hand when it comes to dealing with league and team administration issues.”
With Mark holding a prominent position in Denver, the Thewes clan must be Broncos fans nowadays. Right?
“I think my dad still keeps an eye on the Browns,” Thewes said. “He’s been a fan since the 1950s. I think I’ve converted him somewhat. I’m not going to say he’s a total convert. I think he still pays attention to the Browns, but I know he hasn’t missed a Broncos game [on TV] since 2009.”
There’s no doubt Thewes’ wife, Megan, and their children, Wade, 10, and Gwen, 7, are all-in with the Broncos. Megan, who also went to Canton McKinley, and the kids will attend the Super Bowl.
If the family’s wishes come true, Elway and the Broncos will win another ring, because Thewes no longer associates that outcome with pain he endured as a young Browns fan.
After all, nothing would feel better than knowing his effort and sacrifice out of the spotlight helped the team win a championship.
“We’ve had a chance to compete the last four or five years in a row and win and try to be in the mix every time to be able to get to the ultimate goal for any organization, which is to win the Super Bowl,” Thewes said. “So day in and day out to be able to work for [owner] Mr. [Pat] Bowlen, in an organization that always seems like it’s going to be in the mix ... I think that is probably the easiest thing to drive you every day.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ