DENVER (AP) — Josh Byrnes has taken notice of all the winning going on in the Mile High City. The Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets aren't too far removed from titles and the Denver Broncos have one of the best records in football.

He wants the Colorado Rockies to join in on that prosperity and fun.

The new general manager believes the Rockies can be a success story, too. It's why Byrnes took the risk of leaving the front office of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that just won a second straight World Series crown, for a franchise that lost 119 games last season. The Rockies haven't been to the postseason since 2018.

“Obviously, 119 losses, there’s no sugarcoating it. There’s a lot of work to do,” Byrnes said Friday in an introductory video call. “If you really talk to people around the game, there’s quite a bit of intrigue in trying to solve it here.”

Because Colorado's long been a puzzle: How to consistently win at elevation and in a park as expansive as Coors Field? But Byrnes has been here before — he was an assistant GM in Colorado from 1999-2002 — and knows the challenges. He's also tight with Paul DePodesta, who was hired Nov. 7 as the Rockies’ president of baseball operations. The two worked together in Cleveland in the 1990s.

DePodesta always wanted to work with Byrnes again. So he got him to leave the safety of the Dodgers, where he'd spent more than a decade as the senior vice president of baseball operations and won three World Series rings.

“I loved every day with the Dodgers and have a tremendous amount of respect for the people,” said Byrnes, who's also worked in the front offices of the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox. “But I’ve known Paul for 30 years, and he and I have always embraced challenges. I think he’s brilliant. I think there’s a lot we can both bring to this, and also not just tell stories about what we’ve done, but create a new future for this franchise.”

DePodesta said they've been given assurances they can make changes happen. The Rockies won't shy away from the trade front, either, in reshaping the roster. In years past, there's been some reluctance to deal players.

“Josh and I have both been in situations with immense resources, and we’ve also been in situations that have have had lesser resources, also by a significant amount," explained DePodesta, who said the team is close to rounding out the coaching staff for manager Warren Schaeffer. “We feel very comfortable with what’s available here. The mindset is that there’s a desire to invest pretty heavily on the baseball side.”

First, though, the front office must find an identity — the Rockies' way of doing things. Byrnes pointed out that what made the Dodgers elite was their mindset of constantly pushing to be better. He mentioned Shohei Ohtani stealing 50 bases, Mookie Betts sliding over to shortstop and Clayton Kershaw finding ways to win without his 95 mph fastball.

“It was a nonstop quest for improvement, and in their cases, greatness,” Byrnes said. “It has to come from the player, but we also have to support it and and and be right there with them.”

The Rockies have a solid nucleus that includes All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. The team also drafted an exciting player in Ethan Holliday with the No. 4 pick last summer.

“Paul and I have talked about it, just conceptually, raising the floor,” Byrnes said. “Having a deeper team with fewer sort of gaps — innings, plate appearances — that are that are going to players that aren’t quite what we need. So there’s a lot of ways to start attacking it, but there’s definitely some talent in place.”

He wants to get this team back to winning — like the other teams around town.

“Wouldn’t come in here without some optimism and confidence that we can get there,” Byrnes said. “The excitement around those teams in Denver for winning is something you can feel, I’m sure. We want to be part of that, without a doubt.”

Colorado hires Brennan Marion as offensive coordinator, architect of the high-tempo "Go-Go" system

Colorado coach Deion Sanders has brought in Sacramento State's Brennan Marion as the offensive coordinator, the architect of the high-tempo, run-oriented “Go-Go” system.

The school announced the hire Friday. Marion will step in for Pat Shurmur, whose contract was up after a 3-9 season. Marion will have highly touted quarterback Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis to direct an offense that takes advantage of creative formations to produce favorable situations.

"We brought in a man that has shown he’s creative, innovative, knowledgeable, smart and understands today’s players,” Sanders said. “He has made a difference on the field and off everywhere he’s been.”

The 38-year-old Marion becomes the third offensive coordinator since Sanders arrived at Colorado before the 2023 season. Sanders started with Sean Lewis, who's now the head coach at San Diego State, and then turned the controls over to Shurmur. He ran the offense in 2024 with weapons such as Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, but Colorado struggled to find its rhythm this season.

Marion spent one season as the head coach at Sacramento State, leading the Hornets to a 7-5 mark. They averaged nearly 34 points and 425.6 yards. Leading the way was running back Rodney Hammond Jr., who averaged over 101 yards rushing per game.

Colorado is coming off a season in which the offense finished second-to-last in the Big 12 in both points (20.9) and rushing (125.6).

“Humbled to be sought out by the best to ever do it in football — Coach Prime,” Marion said. “It’s my mission to make sure we put a great product on the field that the entire CU family can be proud of!”

Before Sacramento State, Marion spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at UNLV. He helped the Rebels to a pair of bowl games by relying on a dynamic offense.

Marion is the architect of the “Go-Go” offense, which emphasizes creativity and pace — he wants to run a lot of plays. He even wears a chain around his neck that reads “Go-Go.”

In 2023, UNLV scored 40 or more points in a program-record six games. The Rebels finished in the top 10 in the FBS that season in third-down conversions and red-zone offense. They averaged 34.4 points.

Marion also worked at Texas with head coach Steve Sarkisian as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. While there, Marion mentored wideout Xavier Worthy, who's now with the Kansas City Chiefs. Marion also was a receivers coach at Pittsburgh where he worked with Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison, a first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2023.

Raiders' Maxx Crosby questionable with knee injury but expected to play against Broncos

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby was listed as questionable with a knee injury for Sunday's home game against Denver, but Las Vegas coach Pete Carroll said Friday he expects him to play.

Crosby has been battling a balky knee this season but has not missed any games. He was limited in practice Wednesday and held out Thursday and Friday.

Crosby has four sacks and 13 tackles for loss over his past five games.

“Maxx is going to play,” Carroll said. “I can’t believe him not playing. We really wanted to maximize the rest opportunity here. He’s planning on playing, but it still has to go down this way.”

Several Raiders are dealing with injuries this week.

Tight end Michael Mayer (ankle) and wide receivers Alex Bachman (thumb) and Dont'e Thornton Jr. (concussion) were ruled out. Linebacker Jamal Adams (knee), center/guard Jordan Meredith (ankle), guard Dylan Parham (back) and safety Jeremy Chinn (back) were questionable.

Jokic scores 39 points as Nuggets use big fourth quarter to rally for 134-133 win over Hawks

ATLANTA (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 39 points and the Denver Nuggets rallied from 23 points down with a big fourth quarter to beat the Atlanta Hawks 134-133 on Friday night.

Jamal Murray had 23 points and 12 assists, and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points for the Nuggets, who have won nine straight road games.

The Hawks had a chance for a tying 3-pointer on their final possession, but Murray blocked the attempt by Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The loose ball led to a layup by Alexander-Walker with 2 seconds left, and the Nuggets quickly inbounded the ball and ran out the clock.

Jalen Johnson had 21 points, 18 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists for the Hawks, who have lost three straight. Johnson, who missed Wednesday’s game with a strained calf, became the first Hawks player in the play-by-play era to record a triple-double by halftime. He had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists at the break.

Alexander-Walker finished with 30 points and Kristaps Porzingas had 25.

Jokic shot 2 for 13 in the first half, but ended 13 for 26 and had nine rebounds and eight assists.

The Nuggets trailed 103-94 at the end of the third quarter, but opened the fourth with a 23-3 blitz, all with Jokic on the bench. Cam Johnson had three 3-pointers during the run and the Nuggets hit their first seven 3-pointers of the fourth.

The Hawks took a big lead in the first quarter. Atlanta hit 13 of its first 15 shots and had 13 assists by quarter's end, a season-high for a single quarter. The Hawks led 41-23 at the quarter and their lead topped out at 63-40 in the second quarter.

Up next

Nuggets play at Charlotte on Sunday for the third of a four-game trip. Hawks visit Washington on Saturday in their fifth back-to-back this season.