Mike Shanahan: Should he be on the hot seat? (1 Viewer)

[MaddHatter]

at Denver on this one. Good luck there getting a better coach.

J

A lot of fans here in Denver seem to be quite happy about this. Then again, most fans in Denver are very moronic, emotional, and irrational. They are simply stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid fans. Did I mention that most Denver Bronco fans are stupid?

Can you list the reasons for your unhappiness? I live in Broomfield if it matters.

He does live in Broomfield.

 

[RavensUNFL]

Happy New Year Ratface, couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

 

[greenroom]

at Denver on this one. Good luck there getting a better coach.J

As a coach yes it will be very hard to replace him, but as the overall package it will not. Denver needed to get some new blood in Denver as Shanny has tried to get the Def better, but has failed. AS A life long Broncos fan, the Broncos needed to do this. the team was just going to be a .500 team under Shanny. His last 3 years he is .500. Plus you add on his GM skills and it was time for a change. It will be better for Denver to get this change started. Plus in looking at their schedule next year it is going to be brutal. Its not going to be easy for any coach. HOMEClevelandPittsburghDallasNY GiantsNew England AWAYBaltimoreCincinnatiPhiladelphiaWashingtonIndy

 

[mightymorse]

Watching Shanny own the Raiders got old about a decade ago.

Not disputing his longterm dominance over the Raiders. But in the past two years, his record against the Raiders was no better than his overall record of 0.500. He went 2-2 against the doormat Silver & Black squad the past two seasons -- including getting crushed 31-10 in Denver a month ago.

 

[Jason Wood]

at Denver on this one. Good luck there getting a better coach.J

Hey Joe,This is twice in the last few days you've outright mocked an owner's decision to fire their head coach; which is unlike you. Sure, I get that on the surface both coaches could have been brought back. I also agree 100% that a decision to fire ANY coach is only as good as the person you replace him with. But I also don't see how anyone can be so resolute on the other side of things either.Shanny has won one playoff game in the last decade, 22 other teams have had more playoff success. In the midst of that, ownership has promoted a GM and then jettisoned him in favor of supporting Shanny. They've also gone through at least five defensive coordinators. Importantly, Shanny's power has continued to increase as the team's success has decreased. So too has his compensation. And what we really can't begin to know is what was happening behind the scenes. Did Shanny finally admit to wanting other jobs? Was Shanny asked to give up personnel control and refused? Was he told to dismiss some of his assistants and he refused? Were the players on the team respectful off the field and/or in the locker room? We just don't know.If you're asking me the odds that Denver will have more success with a new coach over the life of his career, it's very hard to say "Yes." But if you're asking if there are very rational, logical reasons to think Denver AND Shanahan are better off apart, I think there are plenty [in fact, I outlined them in the beginning of this thread].Quite a few teams will jump at the chance to hire Shanny, and I'm sure they'll be better off for it. But that doesn't mean Denver was wrong to part ways either.

 

[MDSkinner]

I think they've made a big mistake. How about KC? Then he would have coached 3 of the 4 AFC west teams. Then he can stick it to the Raiders and the Bronco's twice a year.

This would be hilarious. As much as KC fans have hated Ratface over the years I think there is no question that they would love to have him right about now. What would be even funnier is if the Broncos hired Schottenheimer and the Chiefs hired Shanny.JB said it best...good luck to Bronco fans finding someone better.

 

[pinda]

69 at Denver on this one. Good luck there getting a better coach.J

So you think it will be tough to find a better coach than a 91-69 (.569) regular season and a 1-4 playoff record?? I guess you are probably right since you provided such great insight on why you think that in the first place. This was a great move by Bowlen, Shanny has been living off the Superbowl years and it's hard to determine whether that was Shanny or the great players he had around him. Judging by his record post-Elway and his putrid drafting/free agent/trading ability, this was the right move at the right time.

 

[Buckna]

Denver needs to officially promote Jeremy Bates to Offensive Coordinator. Hire a good defense minded coach to rebuild and run that side of the ball and leave Bates to run the offense much as he did this year. Get yourself a new GM with an eye for defensive personnel as well. That will get Denver out of the funk they've been in the last few seasons.

 

[Banger]

Are you guys serious?WE CAN DRAFT DENVER RUNNING BACKS AGAIN.That was my first thought after all these post T. Davis years

Ya but they won't be worth what Denver Rb's are worth now.

 

[thesurfshop19]

It should be clear from earlier comments in this thread that I'm extremely disappointed by this decision.

The "22 teams have more playoff wins in the past 10 years" just doesn't hold that much water for me, precisely because the Broncos won 2 titles in the 2 years before that span. Add to that the fact that the Broncos are always competitive -- if not dominant -- and frankly, I'm okay with it. Sorry if that isn't "winning is all that matters" enough for other sports fans, but it's just how I am.

I thought the Broncos were above the "what have you done for me lately" mentality that I've come to loathe about pro sports. As long as the Broncos were competitive, I would support Shanahan the coach and GM. To put it in perspective, the Broncos aren't "due" to win for the next 52 years (allowing 31 teams each to win twice after 1998).

Let's hope they have a plan. I guess.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

69 at Denver on this one. Good luck there getting a better coach.J

So you think it will be tough to find a better coach than a 91-69 (.569) regular season and a 1-4 playoff record?? I guess you are probably right since you provided such great insight on why you think that in the first place. This was a great move by Bowlen, Shanny has been living off the Superbowl years and it's hard to determine whether that was Shanny or the great players he had around him. Judging by his record post-Elway and his putrid drafting/free agent/trading ability, this was the right move at the right time.

Who was 91-69 and 1-4 in the playoffs?Shanahan is 138-86 (.616) and 8-5 (.615) with Denver including 2 Super Bowl rings.Why did you cherry pick off the first four years?

 

[mozzy84]

The defense has been horrendous for a long time, in spite of Shanny's trade of Portis for Champ Bailey several years ago.

They've been bad the last two seasons, but they were top 10 in overall defense in '03, '04, '05 and '06.

In regards to the question, yes, he should be on the hot seat, but he probably isn't. Bowlen loves the guy, so I think he stays there as long as he wants. And as little playoff success as he has had since Elway's retirement, most teams would love to have a coach who averages 9 wins a season over a 10-year span.

I'd like to see the list of teams who have more than 91 wins the past ten years.Shanny deserves some credit this season for putting the team in a position to win the division in the first place. Lots of young talent on offense (which he put there), obviously the D needs work, but as your post shows, Shanny has usually put strong defenses on the field.



Give the owner credit, too. He knows what he has, its not like HOF coaches grow on trees. Two losing seasons in 12 years. Lots of franchises would take that in a heartbeat.

whoops!

 

[Tom Servo]

69 at Denver on this one. Good luck there getting a better coach.J

So you think it will be tough to find a better coach than a 91-69 (.569) regular season and a 1-4 playoff record?? I guess you are probably right since you provided such great insight on why you think that in the first place. This was a great move by Bowlen, Shanny has been living off the Superbowl years and it's hard to determine whether that was Shanny or the great players he had around him. Judging by his record post-Elway and his putrid drafting/free agent/trading ability, this was the right move at the right time.

Who was 91-69 and 1-4 in the playoffs?Shanahan is 138-86 (.616) and 8-5 (.615) with Denver including 2 Super Bowl rings.Why did you cherry pick off the first four years?

What part of "what have you done lately" don't you understand?

 

[BusMan]

Broncos fan here.

After the initial shock wore off, I've slowly come to terms with what happened. Bowlen wants a more traditional front office/coaching structure in Denver. That wouldn't happen with Shanahan in town. Kudos to Bowlen for preemptively making a tremendously hard decision that he likely would've been forced to make after 2009.

 

[H.K.]

The defense has been horrendous for a long time, in spite of Shanny's trade of Portis for Champ Bailey several years ago.

They've been bad the last two seasons, but they were top 10 in overall defense in '03, '04, '05 and '06.

In regards to the question, yes, he should be on the hot seat, but he probably isn't. Bowlen loves the guy, so I think he stays there as long as he wants. And as little playoff success as he has had since Elway's retirement, most teams would love to have a coach who averages 9 wins a season over a 10-year span.

I'd like to see the list of teams who have more than 91 wins the past ten years.Shanny deserves some credit this season for putting the team in a position to win the division in the first place. Lots of young talent on offense (which he put there), obviously the D needs work, but as your post shows, Shanny has usually put strong defenses on the field.



Give the owner credit, too. He knows what he has, its not like HOF coaches grow on trees. Two losing seasons in 12 years. Lots of franchises would take that in a heartbeat.

whoops!

 

[pinda]

69 at Denver on this one. Good luck there getting a better coach.J

So you think it will be tough to find a better coach than a 91-69 (.569) regular season and a 1-4 playoff record?? I guess you are probably right since you provided such great insight on why you think that in the first place. This was a great move by Bowlen, Shanny has been living off the Superbowl years and it's hard to determine whether that was Shanny or the great players he had around him. Judging by his record post-Elway and his putrid drafting/free agent/trading ability, this was the right move at the right time.

Who was 91-69 and 1-4 in the playoffs?Shanahan is 138-86 (.616) and 8-5 (.615) with Denver including 2 Super Bowl rings.Why did you cherry pick off the first four years?

It wasn't cherry picking, nobody fires a 2 time Superbowl winning coach after they come off the Superbowl wins. That was his record since the Superbowls and since Elway left which was the general theme of my post. I was leaving it to deductive reasoning that my 2nd paragraph discussing Shanahan living off the superbowl records and doing nothing since Elway left would be a link to the first paragraph......but I guess I was wrong.

 

[Ghost Rider]

It wasn't cherry picking, nobody fires a 2 time Superbowl winning coach after they come off the Superbowl wins. That was his record since the Superbowls and since Elway left which was the general theme of my post. I was leaving it to deductive reasoning that my 2nd paragraph discussing Shanahan living off the superbowl records and doing nothing since Elway left would be a link to the first paragraph......but I guess I was wrong.

Averaging 9 wins over a 10-year span, and making the AFC title game with Jake Plummer at QB, is nothing?

 

[BusMan]

I think of it more in terms of direction. What was the organization's trajectory as of Tuesday morning?

 

[gianmarco]

Interesting read

The man in the picture is Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen. He, along with the front office, made the decision to fire the head coach and GM of 14 years on Dec. 30.

Mike Shanahan was a guy who had become synonymous with the Denver Broncos football team and organization. One would expect to see him on the sidelines at Invesco Field at Mile High, and he was the mentor and coach of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.

He was comfortable making gutsy calls with the game on the line, the most recent of which was Week 2 of this season, when he went for the two-point conversion, and the win, in the thriller against San Diego.

Analysts said, "This is a testament to Shanahan's job security in Denver," and "You wouldn't see a second-year head coach do that."

Shanahan fired the team's GM Ted Sundquist in 2007, and took the position for himself. He essentially had control of every player that came into Denver, both with their contracts and their play out on the field.

Shanahan also ran the team's drafts, and just this past year he was credited with an exceptional one. Offensive tackle Ryan Clady was arguably the NFL's best rookie lineman and ranked among the best left tackles in the league. Receiver Eddie Royal was also touted as a genius pick, as was late-round selection Peyton Hillis.

However, Shanahan was also expected to lead the Broncos to the playoffs. He was very reliable doing just that—until the 2006 season rolled around. The Broncos were coming off an AFC Championship game appearance and 13-3 record from the '05 season.

The team looked good through the beginning of '06, but they began to lose momentum and quarterback Jake Plummer was benched in favor of rookie Jay Cutler. The team went 9-7 and missed the playoffs by losing an overtime game to the San Francisco 49ers.

In 2007, with a first-year starter at the helm, the Broncos went 7-9 and suffered a losing season. The future was bright, however, and Shanahan was unquestionably the leader for the future.

When the '08 season began, the Broncos finally looked to be what fans and ownership were hoping for—a dominant team. The first game of the season looked to set the tone. Offensively, it did, but from Week 2 onward, the defense was a liability at best, and atrocious at worst.

Nonetheless, Shanahan had his Broncos on track to win the AFC West, up three games with three to play. The rest, as they say, is history. The Broncos would lose out, and their rival, the Chargers, would win out. The season ended with a 52-21 pounding in San Diego.

After the game, Shanahan said, "I didn't do a good enough job preparing the guys for this game." This was among other quotes in which he ultimately took the blame.

Over the past few days, Bronco fans have been discussing who the new defensive coordinator should be and what the Broncos should do to improve their defensive unit. One thing I know they haven't been discussing is a new head coach.

The Broncos will now be searching for a coach this offseason. The front office has not had to look for one in 14 years, and nobody knows if they have a plan as to who to target.

The talk from other teams, namely the Jets, has been of Bill Cowher. The other two teams in search of a coach, the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns, are far less favorable situations for a coach to go into.

The Broncos join the Jets in what one has to believe is a favorable situation. They have a high-powered, young offense and tremendous depth in their running game (provided the backs stay healthy). Their defense does need to be completely re-worked, but it's certainly better than the Lions, whose entire team needs restructuring from the ground up.

I have to believe that the preliminary list will include Cowher, Brian Billick, Steve Spagnuolo, Josh McDaniels, and possibly Steve Mariucci. Denver isn't known for having a rowdy locker room, but then again, Shanahan always kept guys disciplined.

The team may also be looking at smaller name solutions, which have worked for other teams in the past. See Atlanta's Mike Smith and Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin.

The conclusion has to be that Bowlen and the Broncos needed a big change after three years of disappointment. Shanahan was seen as an icon of the Broncos' past, and they wanted a new image for the team. Time will tell if this is a good time for a major move like this.

It seems that right when many of the young guys were getting settled, such as Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall, they will now have to adapt to a new system, which could slow their development.

I do know one thing, there wasn't a single Bronco fan who expected this to happen. But now the search is on to bring a new face to the Denver Broncos franchise.

 

[Kiddnets]

shanny not interested in JEts

How would you fix Gang Green? Click here to play Jet GM!

Forget him! Mike Shanahan no longer in Jets' head coach hunt

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Updated Friday, January 2nd 2009, 7:08 PM

New year, same old Jets?

It was a brief flirtation, and now it's over. Mike Shanahan isn't coming to the Jets, the Daily News has learned.

The Jets held internal discussions on the recently-fired Broncos coach. They even tried to send a feeler to gauge his interest, but the organization is moving on. Presumably, Shanahan sent word to the Jets that he isn't interested.

Shanahan, who was fired Tuesday, is off on a two-week vacation. He told the NFL Network that he won't speak with any teams until he returns from his trip.

The Jets are focusing on top assistants, not current or former head coaches. That also means Marty Schottenheimer is out of the running, as the Daily News reported several days ago. Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan are believed to be at the top of their list.

Friday, they interviewed in-house candidates Brian Schottenheimer and Bill Callahan.