*Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is speaking out about being part of the Walton-Penner ownership group in Denver, which is tasked with searching for the next head coach of the Broncos.
Rice joined the Denver ownership group in August 2022. She took to Facebook to express her excitement over being part of the committee.
“It’s an honor to be part of this ownership group,” Rice said. “Football has been an integral part of my life since the moment it was introduced to me, and I am thrilled to be a part of the Broncos organization today. I spent much of my younger years in Denver, so to be able to combine my love of the game with my love for this great city and team is an adventure of a lifetime and a great opportunity.”
In a statement, the Walton/Penner group said: “We’re pleased to welcome former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to our ownership group.”
READ MORE: Condoleezza Rice Joins Incoming Denver Broncos Ownership Group | WATCH
The statement continued, “A highly respected public servant, accomplished academic and corporate leader, Secretary Rice is well known as a passionate and knowledgeable football fan who has worked to make the sport stronger and better. She is the daughter of a football coach and served on the inaugural College Football Playoff Committee. She moved to Denver with her family when she was 12 years old and went on to attend the University of Denver for both college and graduate school. Her unique experience and extraordinary judgment will be a great benefit to our group and the Broncos organization.”
The Broncos fired three head coaches in 2022, with the most recent being Nathaniel Hackett.
“I’m just thrilled to be a part of this great Denver Broncos organization for a couple of reasons. One, is that you have to understand how much I love football,” Rice said at the time she joined the sports franchise. “My dad was a football coach when I was born. I was supposed to be his All-American linebacker. When he got a girl, he decided to teach her about the sport instead,” Rice said, before earnestly cracking the day’s best joke. “Even though my father has gone to the Lord, I have to think that today, he’s thinking, ‘She finally got a really important job.’”
Rice has always been devoted to the Cleveland Browns, her childhood team. She nearly broke the internet after NFL insider Adam Schefter previously suggested the Browns might interview her about a coaching vacancy.
Rice was quick to distance herself from rumors that she was looking to coach the Browns.
“I love my Browns – and I know they will hire an experienced coach to take us to the next level,” Rice said via her Facebook account in 2018, Sports Illustrated reports. “On a more serious note, I do hope that the NFL will start to bring women into the coaching profession as position coaches and eventually coordinators and head coaches. One doesn’t have to play the game to understand it and motivate players.”
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