| Personal information | |||
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| Born: | (1938-12-20)December 20, 1938 (age 86)[1] Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S. | ||
| Career information | |||
| College: | Trenton State College Pennsylvania State University | ||
| Career history | |||
As a coach: | |||
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As an administrator: | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
John E. Beake (born December 20, 1938) is an American former professionalfootball executive who served as general manager of theDenver Broncos of theNational Football League (NFL) from 1985 to 1998.
Beake graduated fromLong Branch High School in 1957 andTrenton State College in 1961.[2] He then earned a master's degree fromPenn State, where he served as a graduate assistant underRip Engle.[3] He was the head basketball and assistant football coach atNew York Military Academy from 1963 to 1964. He then spent four seasons as the head football coach atNyack High School, where he compiled a 24–4–4 record and won three league champions.[3] In 1968 he was hired as an assistant coach by theKansas City Chiefs.[4] In his seven seasons in Kansas City, the Chiefs won three division titles, one conference championship, andSuper Bowl IV. After one season as the offensive coordinator atColorado State, Beake rejoined his Chiefs' former boss,Hank Stram, in New Orleans.[3]
In 1979, Beake joined the Denver Broncos as director of pro personnel.[5] In 1981 he was promoted to director of player personnel.[6] In 1984 he was named assistant general manager.[7] Shortly thereafter, the Broncos were sold and general managerHein Poulus resigned.[8] After going without a general manager for the1984 season, the Broncos promoted Beake on February 18, 1985.[8][9] Beake ran the administrative side of the Broncos, focusing on contract negotiations.[10] He was third in the team's power structure behind the owner and head coach.[11] During Beake's tenure as GM, the Broncos appeared in five Super Bowls and won two of them.[12] On March 3, 1999, Beake was reassigned to the position of vice president of administration andNeal Dahlen succeeded him as general manager.[13] He left the Broncos organization the following year to become the National Football League's vice president of player development and managing director of football operations forNFL Europe.[5] In 2002 he was promoted to vice president of football development and operations.[14] The NFL announced Beake's retirement on March 9, 2004.[15]
