is chronicled in a new feature<\/a> by The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider \u2014 was back in the coaching booth and on the headset.<\/p>\nThe game was a significant step for Grossi, who was diagnosed with a yolk sac tumor in October of 2024 after a series of symptoms. Over the ensuing months, Grossi underwent chemotherapy and battled several setbacks.<\/p>\n
“He’s a fighter,” Head Coach Sean Payton said recently. “It’s inspiring.”<\/p>\n
As Grossi fought against the disease \u2014 continuing to watch film and follow Denver’s season from afar \u2014 the Broncos did what they could to help the assistant coach. Grossi received a message from Owner & CEO Greg Penner immediately after the diagnosis \u2014 and an “overwhelming” support followed.<\/p>\n
“It’s not realistic in this profession, but I hope I can work for Greg and Carrie [Walton Penner] for the rest of my life,” Grossi told Kosmider. “That’s the only way I can scratch the surface of beginning to repay them for what they did for me.”<\/p>\n
According to Kosmider, various individuals throughout the Broncos’ organization helped supply customized meals, set Grossi up with football cut-ups, booked hotel and travel reservations for Grossi’s family and more. From General Manager George Paton to the medical team, a number of people also checked in on Grossi regularly.<\/p>\n
“I was taken aback,” Grossi’s wife, Jacqueline, told The Athletic. “I think I underestimated how much they would help. They were awesome from the get-go, from the first day Zack got the diagnosis. There were constant texts and encouragement. It was awesome.”<\/p>\n
Midway through his treatment, Grossi returned to break down the team’s huddle before a crucial win against the Falcons \u2014 and that eventually set the stage for his return to the coaching booth in the postseason.<\/p>\n
With recent scans showing Grossi is cancer-free, the assistant coach was back on the field during the offseason program and looking ahead to the next steps of his career.<\/p>\n
“You just appreciate every bit of what you’re doing right now,” Grossi said.<\/p>\n
For more on Grossi’s inspiring story, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Lead The Broncos’ trip back to the postseason in January also marked another significant return. In the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[1010,232,231,258,2426,7,5109,6,1004],"class_list":{"0":"post-152625","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-aric-dilalla","9":"tag-broncos","10":"tag-denver","11":"tag-denver-broncos","12":"tag-denverbroncos","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-mile-high-morning","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114733654349623590","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}