Keeler: Yo, Broncos? When it comes to uniforms, either bring back the D, or let it be

Some free advice, Damani Leech: Unless Jeff Bridich, Lord help us, walks through that door, you’re the smartest guy in the room.

But don’t overthink this one.

Bring back the D. Or let it be.

“I think you’ve got to try and balance history and tradition and, you know, three Super Bowls wearing this uniform,” Leech, the brand-new Broncos president, said Monday during an introductory news conference at UCHealth Training Center.

“But also understanding that tastes evolve, your customers evolve. And connecting with fans and representing your brand in the best way is important to do.

“Again, no proclamations (regarding uniforms) on Day 1. But it’s also one of those things certainly that I’ll be looking at.”

Want some more free advice?

Don’t look too hard.

Bring back the D. Or let it be.

Anything else is blasphemy.

When it comes to the Broncos’ uniforms, don’t get cute. If there’s ever a doubt, honor the past. Honor the legacy.

Honor the players and coaches whose blood and toil turned the AFL’s also-rans, born in Copper Bowl hand-me-downs and mustard socks, into one of the NFL’s marquee franchises.

Honor the orange. Honor the best dang fan base in football. Honor the ones who pack the house. The ones who turn school buses into rocking food trucks. The ones who never gave up hope, even after Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch (don’t ask), Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Brandon Allen, Drew Lock, Jeff Driskel (also don’t ask) and Teddy Bridgewater took turns stepping on it.

“Our currency around here,” Leech said, “is winning.”

Bring back the D. Or let it be.

Don’t just nod to the Super Bowls. Hug them.

Hug ‘em the way coach Nathaniel Hackett hugs his dudes. Two arms. Tight squeeze. Full heart.

“We met earlier (Monday),” the new prez said of his new coach, “and (we) hugged three times in the span of five minutes.”

Want to make more friends in a hurry ‘round here? Bring back the classic Denver “D.” The D Craig Morton, Randy Gradishar and the Orange Crush made dangerous. The D John Elway and the Three Amigos made iconic.
Otherwise, the smart play on football fashion is to leave well enough alone.

Bring back the D. Or let it be.

Yes, it’s been a long time — too darn long — since the untamed white horse struck fear into anyone in Kansas City, let alone the AFC.

But as Leech noted, the current look, which turned 25 this past February, is woven into the souls of Orange and Blue acolytes who’ll forever associate it with four Super Bowls and three Vince Lombardi trophies.

And hey, we get it. You get your hands on a new property, you want to leave your stamp on it.

The currency of Broncos Country is winning. But the lifeblood? The lifeblood is memories. And, more crucially, about making new ones.

As a former Princeton defensive back, Leech can read a room even better than he reads a quarterback’s eyes. This is one island on which you do not want to find yourself alone, my friend.

“The main thing I’ve learned in a few weeks is, (that) there a lot of opinions about the uniforms,” new Broncos CEO Greg Penner offered Monday, with a slight smile, when asked for his take on uniforms. “And I have not formed any conclusions yet.”

Clever. Bit of a dodge, mind you. But clever.

Bring back the D. Or let it be.

In late March, two weeks after news of the Russell Wilson trade went viral, reps at Fanatics.com told me that Big Russ was the NFL’s top-selling player on the sports merchandise site. By July, Wilson’s No. 3 Broncos jersey ranked third among all players sold, according to NFLShop.com’s charts, behind only Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow and Buffalo signal-caller Josh Allen.

Tastes evolve. Customers evolve. Classics are classics forever. In Broncos Country, a hip, fashionable uniform isn’t nearly as important as the quarterback who’s wearing it.

Bring back the D. Or let it be.