Colorado sports notes: Rockies GM Bill Schmidt steps down after one of the worst seasons in MLB history

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies stressed bringing a “new voice” and a “new vision” into the front office.
Someone who hasn't been around for three straight 100-loss seasons. Someone who hasn't just gone through one of the worst seasons in baseball history.
The team announced Wednesday that it was parting ways with general manager Bill Schmidt and starting an immediate search for his replacement. The Rockies emphasized looking at external candidates to break out of a losing cycle that's seen them miss the playoffs the last seven seasons.
"We are setting our sights on finding the right leader from outside our organization who can bring a fresh perspective to the Rockies and enhance our baseball operations with a new vision, innovation, and a focus on both short and long-term success,” Walker Monfort, the team’s executive vice president and son of owner Dick Monfort, said in a statement. “This change delivers an opportunity to shape the future of our club and move forward into a new era of Rockies baseball.”
The Rockies finished 43-119 this season, narrowly avoiding the distinction of being the worst team since baseball adopted a 162-game schedule in 1961. The mark still belongs to the 2024 Chicago White Sox (41-121).
Schmidt has been with the Rockies since Oct. 1, 1999, when he became the director of scouting. He steadily worked his way up the ranks until being hired as the fourth GM in team history in 2021.
He never had a winning season while in charge.
"After a number of conversations, we decided it is time for me to step aside and make way for a new voice to guide the club’s baseball operations,” Schmidt said in a statement. “Better seasons are ahead for the Rockies and our great fans, and I look forward to seeing it come to life in the years ahead.”
The first step for the new GM will deciding on a manager. Warren Schaeffer has been the interim skipper since stepping into the position when Bud Black was fired in May. He went 36-86 in a season that went sideways from the start.
The Rockies boast a young nucleus, but there are plenty of areas to shore up. They finished with a differential of minus-424, the worst since 1900, surpassing the minus-349 of the 1932 Boston Red Sox.
The starting rotation turned in a 6.65 ERA, the highest mark since it became an official stat in both leagues in 1913.
Over the last three seasons, the Rockies have lost 323 games, which is tied with Philadelphia (1940-42) for the fifth-most through a three-year span.
The Rockies wound up 50 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. What's more, they were 37 games in back of the fourth-place Arizona Diamondbacks in the division.
“As with any transition, Bill’s departure allows our club to seek a new leader of our baseball department experienced in areas where we know we need to grow within the operation,” Dick Monfort said. “A new voice will benefit our organization as we work towards giving our fans the competitive team they deserve.”
Broncos find winning formula: A run-first offense and a dominant defense
DENVER (AP) — The Denver Broncos found an identity in Week 4, unveiling a run-first offense to complement their first-rate defense in a 28-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
They ran roughshod over the Bengals, rushing for 186 yards with J.K. Dobbins accounting for 101 of those and giving Denver its first 100-yard game since the 2022 season finale.
Bo Nix threw for a career-high 326 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also ran for a score, as did wide receiver Marvin Mims, in a Denver win that evened the Broncos' record at 2-2 heading into next week's clash with the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in Philadelphia.
“I think that race that we always talk about, of improving and finding the identity of what we’re going to be, it still continues," coach Sean Payton said Tuesday. "There were a number of things on tape. Obviously, today’s schedule is a little different because of the short week, but we’d be foolish if we didn’t find a way to get the corrections taken care of from last night’s game and there are plenty of them.
“So it’s a quick turnaround and the focus strictly has to be on Philly. It can’t be on the following week going to London or any of those things,” Payton added. "Short week. We have to get the recovery going, players have to get rested, the study’s going to be important, the plan’s going to be important and then implementing it against a real good football team on the road.”
What’s working
The Broncos' ground game — finally. In ending a 38-game drought without a 100-yard rusher, counting the playoffs, Dobbins averaged a healthy 6.3 yards per carry and rookie RB R.J. Harvey added 58 yards on 14 hand-offs for a 4.1-yard average. Mims took his only carry to the house for a 16-yard score, Nix scored from six yards out and fullback Adam Prentice even got a touch, gaining four yards up the middle for a key first down.
What needs help
The penalties continue to haunt the Broncos. After averaging 10 flags a game, including penalties that were declined, in the first three weeks, the Broncos trimmed that number to seven penalties Monday night. But they continue to be their own worst enemies at times with undisciplined mistakes.
Stock up
A week after RB J.K. Dobbins had 83 yards on 11 carries against his former team, the Los Angeles Chargers, he posted Denver's first 100-yard rushing game since the 2022 season finale.
Stock down
C Luke Wattenberg drew four penalty flags, putting a blemish on an otherwise dominant offensive performance.
Injuries
None of concern.
Key numbers
— 6-for-6: Mims caught every pass thrown his way for 69 yards to go with his 16-yard TD run. He also averaged 8 yards on three punt returns.
— 9-of-10: Nix threw to 10 receivers and hit all of them save for rookie Pat Bryant.
—37:58: The time of possession for Denver's offense, compared to Cincy's 22:02.
Next steps
After the Broncos try to snap Philadelphia's nine-game home winning streak, it's off to London for a Week 6 matchup with the New York Jets.
Australian kickers making their mark in the Big 12 Conference with booming punts
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — The Big 12 has certainly gone Down Under to get a leg up in the punting game. Nine of the conference’s top 15 punters this season hail from Australia.
Crikey! That's a lot of booming Aussie punters, mate.
“Punting is a natural thing for us,” explained Colorado's Damon Greaves, who’s from Busselton, a small city in the southwestern corner of Western Australia. “You guys grow up throwing it. ... We grow up punting it.”
Statistically, the league's best Aussies include Finn Lappin (Kansas), Liam Dougherty (Houston), Max Fletcher (Cincinnati), Orion Phillips (Utah), Jack Burgess (Texas Tech), Sam Vander Haar (BYU), Greaves, Oliver Straw (West Virginia) and Ethan Craw (TCU).
Combined, the Australian contingent is averaging 44.1 yards per boot this season. They've also pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line on 55 occasions. Craw has the long punt of the bunch this season at 69 yards.
The influx of Aussies can be attributed, in part, to Australian rules football, which is a blend of running with the ball (think tailback) and kicking (punter). Just like American football, Aussie version uses an oddly shaped ball (in their case, an oval).
Most players can kick with either foot and roll out either way to rocket a punt — just in case it's needed.
The transition between Aussie rules and American football, though, takes some time.
That's where Prokick Australia enters the picture. The development academy teaches burgeoning punters the proper technique, skills and strategy. Not only that, but the program gets prospective players used to playing with a helmet and pads.
There are roughly 85 players from Prokick Australia in American college or pro football. Among those are Broncos rookie Jeremy Crawshaw (Florida), Bears punter Tory Taylor (Iowa) and Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (Texas).
The program has produced Ray Guy award winners and numerous All-Americans since it was started in 2007 by former Australian Football League player Nathan Chapman.
“We’re instinctively good at kicking. But there’s not much that needs to happen for it to go wrong, so we still need to practice it,” Chapman said in a phone interview from Australia. “It’s part of what we’ve grown up doing and this is where we start to just utilize some of those skills to bring it into the American game.”
The Big Ten had an influx of Aussie punters in 2022.
Now, it's the Big 12's turn.
“If we put a dominant punter in the Big Ten or the Big 12 or the SEC and a coach plays against one of our players and says, ‘I want that,’ we need to give them someone who's going to compete against that level,” Chapman explained. “We’re really selective on who we give the opportunity to kick at that level and they do a lot of training to get through our processes to make sure that we feel like they can handle the demands of SEC football or the Big 12.”
Greaves grew up playing high-level Australian rules football before making the switch to punting. He started his career at Kansas and then transferred to Colorado.
The path to college was a winding one for the 28-year-old Vander Haar. He spent a number of years selling swimming pools for his dad’s company before attending a tryout with Prokick Australia. He learned the nuances of punting and it turned into an opportunity to kick for Pittsburgh and now BYU.
“I never even thought I’d go to university,” Vander Haar said. “I looked at some jobs, but I didn’t have a degree, and so that kind of stumped me a little bit. But then obviously I felt like I could punt the football a little bit, and so I joined Prokick.”
It's forged friendships, too.
On Friday, when the Cougars (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) host West Virginia (2-3, 0-2) it will be a momentary reunion for two close friends. Straw was in Vander Haar’s wedding.
Last weekend, Vander Haar had the chance to catch up with Greaves in Boulder.
“It’s like a Prokick pipeline,” Vander Haar said. “There’s a bunch of us and it’s kind of cool.”
It even extends beyond the Big 12.
Vander Haar connected with another Prokick alum, Tomas O’Halloran of East Carolina, before their game on Sept. 20. Vander Haar didn’t know the punter but received a message from O’Halloran on social media.
“He was like, ‘What’s up? It would be cool to hang out,’” Vander Haar recounted. “You just have that bond — you all came from the same program."