PHOENIX - In an offseason that has been marked with both turmoil and tragedy, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said Sunday he felt for a time that he wanted to "just crawl in a hole somewhere."

In his first extended comments since the end of the Broncos' disappointing 9-7 playoff miss, Bowlen spoke of his own difficulties in dealing with the death of his mother late in the season after her extended illness, as well as the deaths of two players - cornerback Darrent Williams was killed in the early- morning hours on New Year's Day, and running back Damien Nash collapsed after a charity basketball game in February - and the organization's overall need for healing.

"I used to think losing Super Bowls were tough; we lost three of those in the '80s," Bowlen said. "I can honestly say this offseason, particularly with my mother - that was expected - but two players, it was pretty tough to take.

"I think you just sort of have to accept it for what it was, tragedy, and just crawl in a hole somewhere. I think I really felt there was a large load on us, especially with the murder of Darrent and death of Damien following that . . . that's all just pretty tough to take for everybody."

Bowlen has spent time with the Williams and Nash families in recent months, having attended both players' funerals as well as a memorial service for Williams in Denver.

But on the field as well, Bow- len has seen the Broncos go through - in terms of free agency and turnover on the coaching staff - the most overall change than at any point in Mike Shanahan's tenure. And he said he felt it was all necessary.

The Broncos have a bevy of new players, including cornerback Dré Bly, running back Travis Henry and tight end Daniel Graham, and Shanahan changed most of the defensive staff while re-assigning several coaches on offense.

"I felt after the season . . . we would see some significant changes," Bowlen said. "I think missing the playoffs was a shock to everybody's system. Mike doesn't make changes, especially coaching changes, without a great deal of thought. I think that he felt - I know he felt - that he had to make some changes. I knew that was coming."

The Broncos were 7-2 at one point last season, but a four- game losing streak in late November into early December put them squarely on the fringe of the playoff chase down the stretch. It was a loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Invesco Field at Mile High in the regular-season finale, a game Shanahan has labeled "embarrassing," that formally kept them out of the postseason and concluded a home schedule in which the Broncos finished an uncharacteristic 4-4 in Denver.

"We stepped back and we obviously didn't get to where we wanted to go," Bowlen said. "Look at all of the things that happened. The bottom line, in terms of the football team, is, we had to get better in two areas - coaching and players.

"Our standards are to be in the playoffs and hope to win the Super Bowl," Bowlen said. "I think we can win the Super Bowl every year. Otherwise, why be in the business?"

Asked if 9-7 was simply unacceptable, Bowlen added, "Unless we went 9-7 and won three playoff games and then the Super Bowl, then it would be acceptable. That's not the way we want to do it. I've always said this to you guys, my ultimate goal every season is to win a championship.

"Sometimes that's unrealistic and everybody laughs at me, but if I didn't expect to do that, who would?"

Bowlen added he liked, so far, what the Broncos have done with the additions in free agency and hoped the upcoming draft would bear fruit as well.

He also said he has had "discussions" with Shanahan about a contract extension. Shanahan, who has been the Broncos' head coach since 1995, has two years remaining on his current contract, which puts him near the top of the NFL's pay scale.

"We've talked about it," Bowlen said. " . . . We had other things on our mind, some of them we didn't exactly anticipate, so we've had an opportunity to chat about it. We're making progress."

Asked if that meant something would be finished before the start of this season, Bowlen said, "I don't want to say anything more than that, because that just raises the speculation to another level."

Shanahan is the second-longest-tenured coach in the league after Tennessee's Jeff Fisher. Fisher was named the Oilers' head coach with six games remaining in the 1994 season and has been with the franchise since.

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359