ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There was a time when John Elway and John Fox saw eye to eye on the best way to run the Denver Broncos.

But after four years together, their perspectives diverged. And by the time a report from Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer revealed that Fox thought he would be fired if the Broncos lost to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the differences were irreconcilable with anything short of a Super Bowl win.

“I think in any relationship, whether it be player-coach, coach-GM, you’re always going to have bumpy patches. I think the main thing between John and I was we disagreed how to get to the next level,” said Elway, who spoke Tuesday, one day after the Broncos announced a mutual parting of ways between the team and Fox. “We accomplished so much — four AFC West championships — but I think the biggest miss between us was how we can take that next step and what it was going to take to get to that next step.”

It became clear as Elway spoke that he was displeased with the lack of fire and emotion shown by the team during the 24-13 loss that was its third in its last four divisional-round games. With the exception of bursts of energy and emotion from players like special-teamer Omar Bolden, cornerback Chris Harris Jr., defensive lineman Malik Jackson, running back C.J. Anderson and left guard Orlando Franklin, the Broncos looked lethargic and disjointed.

By the time the offense went three-and-out on two consecutive possessions to open the second half, the home crowd had turned, with boos raining down like the drizzle that fell from the sky.

The loss was bad enough. The manner in which it happened — emotional and physical domination that resembled the 43-8 Super Bowl XLVIII loss 49 weeks earlier — rankled Elway even more.

“I think if there is one thing that you would like to have and you want to feel — at least in the last game — you want to feel like you go out kicking and screaming,” Elway said. “I think two years in a row it didn’t feel like we went out kicking and screaming because of the fact the way we played the last game. So therefore hopefully we get that turned around.”

The Broncos remain in “Super Bowl or bust” mode, especially if quarterback Peyton Manning opts to return for a fourth Broncos season and his 18th in the league. But Elway expressed confidence that one of the two young quarterbacks also with the Broncos — backup Brock Osweiler and practice-squad passer Zac Dysert — could step in if Manning retires.

“I think we’re excited about both of those guys,” Elway said. “They’ve made progress. Brock’s made that progress we hoped he’d make. It’s just a matter of — what’s difficult is that he hasn’t gotten a lot of playing time. So when that time comes, we’ll see where he is.”

Denver has eight Pro Bowlers other than Manning, six of whom are under contract for next year. That doesn’t include linebacker Brandon Marshall and running back C.J. Anderson, both of whom played at a Pro Bowl level after stepping into the starting lineup because of injuries.

“We’ve got a relatively young roster,” Elway said. “We’re going to have eight or nine picks in the draft next year. We’ve got a good base of guys for the most part, with the exception of a couple Thomases (Demaryius and Julius) and a couple other guys we’ll work on once we get to the coaching search to be able to tie them down, hopefully have them back. So, I mean, I feel great about our football team.”

But what Elway wants to see is fire from his team — and improvement during the season. Although the 2012 and 2013 Broncos were fairly steady between the first and second halves of the season, the 2014 team started 6-1 and then went 6-4, including the playoff loss.

“I think that we’ve got to peak a little bit later than we peaked,” he said.