shannahan fired from bronco's (Denver: layoffs, price, shop)

[401402]

wow tough to swallow 14 yrs but last 3 yrs no play off's

[FoRuMRideR420]

yea big move for denver but i think it was a good one

[Sockeye]

Shanahanjob became a megalomaniac. Need to hire a great head coach, and a SEPARATE GM. Hmm, maybe Cowher for starters?

[wanneroo]

It was time. He has made terrible personnel choices for the last 7-8 years.

We have to give thanks for the two super bowls.

Nothing personal but I just think sometimes you need a change.

[McGowdog]

Well, what's done is done!

I've honestly been watching the headlines with one eye sort of waiting for this to happen. I've commented more on this in the OPs Sports/Football subforum thread on the same topic. My thoughts on Shanahan are basically the fact that I don't blame him and his over-achieving with lousy talent compared to the rest of the league for the failure of the whole defensive unit.

But, he was the field general. He did call the shots and take perhaps too much of a role on recruiting, personnel decisions, etc. and he has not been able to get the defense back on track or get a defensive coordinator to help fix things either.

Bill Cowher? How about Holmgren? The coach who SHOULD HAVE won that Superbowl 3 years ago.

[Shuffler]

hopefully he'll stick around Denvoid long enough to finish that modest 30,000 sq ft home, though

that 'West Coast Offense' is old news, anyway....time for change and I hope they can land Bill Cowher or somebody of that caliber

[sportsfangal]

still feels s****y to me. I will miss him terribly.

[bluescreen73]

Nobody really saw this coming this year...next, perhaps, but not this year. In retrospect, though, it was the right decision. Mike Shanahan wanted all the power Pat Bowlen could offer. He basically told Bowlen "Sign the checks and sip Mai Tais in the owner's box. I've got the team under control. You don't have to worry about a thing."

Well grasshopper, with great power comes great responsibility. Shanahan had nobody above him to blame for the pathetic defensive players the Broncos drafted because that was his job. He had nobody to blame for the overpriced, underperforming free agents he brought in because that was his job. He had nobody to blame for making the defensive coordinator position a revolving door because hiring them was, again, his job.

Shanahan may be 8-5 in the playoffs but without John Elway he was 1-4. The Broncos missed the playoffs 6 of the last 10 years.

Two things I find patently amusing:

1) Some of the same folks who said the Broncos are on Easy Street because Cutler's gonna be an "elite QB" and Brandon Marshall's "the next T.O." are griping that the Broncos "have been set back 4-5 years" or "will be a 4 win team next year" because Shanahan was canned.

2) A lot of people are pointing out that the Broncos had 7 running backs on IR this year and making it an excuse. Again, these are some of the same people who've been saying "man it doesn't matter who we have at RB, Shanahan can make 'em look like a superstar."

Bottom line, Shanahan was a terrible GM and I don't think any team in their right mind will reward him with that kind of power ever again. Oh sure, he'll coach again, but that's it.

[Mike from back east]

Bronco's had a 3 game lead with 3 games left, choked, and totally collapsed in Sunday's sorry where-is-the-defense, 52-21 loss. I believe the team won only one playoff game since Elway left. Can't fire the team so the coach is out. Someone call Extreme Makeover - Defense Edition. Third year in a row that Denver collapsed late in the season and missed the playoffs. I thought something was horribly wrong when they lost to KC earlier in the season. The D gave up 448 points this year, only 2 teams were worse; here are the numbers:

Team / Pts Allowed / W-L Record
Detroit / 517 points / 0-16
St Louis / 465 points / 2-14
Denver / 448 points / 8-8
Kansas / 440 points / 2-14

More comments in the Football forum: http://www.city-data.com/forum/footb...shannahan.html

Edit: Thanks to the Moderator for moving this to the Denver forum.

[Scott5280]

Bring on Sunny Lubick...A man already well respected by the Colorado Community;
Pat Bowlen probably wouldn't consider such a candidate versed for the NFL. though..