Flores, in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, accused Elway and the Broncos of conducting a "sham interview" with him 3 years ago ... saying Elway and others at the meeting "looked completely disheveled" and were "obviously" "drinking heavily the night before."

Elway, though, refuted those claims in a lengthy statement on Thursday ... calling the allegations "false and defamatory."

"For Brian to make an assumption about my appearance and state of mind early that morning was subjective, hurtful and just plain wrong," the Denver exec said. "If I appeared 'disheveled,' as he claimed, it was because we had flown in during the middle of the night -- immediately following another interview in Denver -- and were going on a few hours of sleep to meet the only window provided to us."

Elway continued, "I interviewed Brian in good faith, giving him the same consideration and opportunity as every other candidate for our head coaching position in 2019."

Elway added that he and his team were "prepared, ready and fully engaged" during the interview, which he said lasted 3 and a half hours.

"It's unfortunate and shocking to learn for the first time this week that Brian felt differently about our interview with him," Elway said.

Elway's strong denial came just hours after Ross, the Miami Dolphins' owner, issued his. As we reported, Ross called the Flores claims that he offered money to the coach to tank "false, malicious, and defamatory."