I know this isn't the place to talk Broncos football nor am I qualified to do so (it's arguable whether or not I'm even qualified to talk Nuggets basketball). And I promise I won't make this a habit if you give me space for one rant today, because it has to be asked...
Is it time for Mike Shanahan to get fired?
No coach in any sport should get fired for one loss. But today's 31-10 embarrassing blowout loss at home to the Raiders - the @#$%& RAIDERS! - was more than just a loss. It was a microcosm of Shanny's inability to produce wins - easy or hard - late in the season in the post-John Elway Era. The Broncos have now lost at home to Jacksonville, Miami and Oakland. And if it wasn't for horrific officiating and an exceptionally unclutch kicker, the Broncos could've easily had two more home losses.
Meanwhile, Bill Belichick is winning games with a quarterback who hasn't started since high school...and without videotape surveillance of his opponents this season!
To put this in perspective for Nuggets fans, today's Broncos loss would be like the Nuggets finding themselves up three games over the Utah Jazz for the division title with five games left in the season and then they lose at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder (now coached, incidentally, by Nuggets Interim Head Coach Hall of Famer Scott Brooks). Sure, they'd probably still make the playoffs. But rather than put your nearest rival away for good, home losses like this make the remainder of your regular season much more difficult than it ever had to be and then you gas your team out before the playoffs even start.
Mike Shanahan has become the Broncos version of Dan Issel. Like Issel, Shanny was successful as a coach early in his tenure with the organization and it bought him the power to become the president as well as the coach for as long as he wanted. But just as we saw with Issel and others who have been given such powers with no checks and balances (see Mike Dunleavy in Milwaukee, Mike Holmgren in Seattle, Isiah Thomas in New York, and so on), these situations rarely, if ever, pan out.
Broncos owner Pat Bowlen deserves credit for being patient with his head coach, just as Stanley Kroenke deserves credit for being patient with his. I don't think we as fans want impatient owners who are constantly changing the guard at coach unless the guy commanding the bench is a real disaster. But to quote Bill Parcells, at some point "you are what your record says you are." And the Broncos are now 6-5 in a season with one of the league's easiest schedules and their nearest division rival imploding from opening day.
Going into Thanksgiving week, Broncos fans should be thankful to one person: Norv Turner. Because if it wasn't for him, the Broncos season would've been over today.
Does anyone have Bill Cowher's phone number?
Sunday, November 23, 2008
So who's launching www.firemikeshanahan.com?...
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13 comments:
Inexcusable! Doesn't he remember Al Davis owes him money? We made the Raiders look like the Chiefs today (Oh yeah they only have one win this year).
Andrew...
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE start a Broncos blog already!! Shanahan should've been fired after the Broncos lost to the Niners last year!! He's worse than Karl!!
Actually Andrew, there WAS a firemikeshanahan.com.
The guy who ran it was a douche. Not for his view on Shanny, but just all around. He used to post on www.orangemane.com.
ANYWAYS, shortly after DWill's death, he took it down, kind of due to that, he thought it wasn't important, something along those lines.
Amen, Andrew. 10 years of mediocre performance would never be execused in any other profession. And, it's time for a "no more excuses" approach with the Broncos.
Bowlen won't fire Shanny but it's time, after this season, for Shanny to recognize the need for him to step aside.
No Cowher talk please. He made an improbable run to capture ONE Super Bowl. Then after one more season (at 8-8), he retired and Cowher'dly admitted that he had been thinking about retiring since they won the Super Bowl.
Stiffs you're my man and everything but you guys are hating on the Raiders whuppin' that ass!!! That's right, I love Denver sports except for the Broncos. I LOVE the Raiders. We came, we saw, we whupped that ass. In all fairness, the Broncs have some injuries. But still, their passing game should've carried the day. Difference? No DeAngelo Hall.
Come on, dawg. Don't hate. LOL!
Most of the time I agree with almost everything on this blog except for this post. Shannahan is truley one of the best coaches in the NFL. You guys have to realize how injured we are, first of all and how much bad luck we have had over the past few seasons loosing 2 key defensive players to tragic accidents. Do you remember 2005 when we were one of the best teams in the league at 13-3? We probably would have won the superbowl if it hadn't been for the Steelers. I promise, wait one more year and you all will be praising this team once again. We are going to draft some big time defensive players since we are already set on offense and we will once again be ruling the NFL.
No Bill Cower....Didn't it take him 16 years to win a superbowl?
The broncos are second in the league with 11 players on IR since the camps. That excludes the players like bailey, williams, young and webster who have missed up to seven weeks but are not on IR. Find another team as injured that has had young players coached well by Shanny step up as well. There is no other team that has had seven rookies step up to play significant parts. In addition to Ryan Harris who played I think three snaps last year. He has kept a young and injured team together. He deserves a lot of credit for the job he has done.
Shanny can't keep the players healthy, the strength and conditioning coach should be fired. Shanahan is one of the best coaches ever. We have two rings with him, he has an amazing ability to find talent in the draft. Keep in mind its only been three years since he scored cutler, scheffler, marshall and dumervil in a draft and then this year he got Clady, Royal, Torain and all hustle man Spencer Larsen
Hey Andrew,
I intend this statement to be interpreted in the most polite, respectful way possible; but I wish to voice my opinion nonetheless. I would much rather not see articles on the Broncos on this website. This is a website for Nuggets fans, by a very knowledgeable, loyal, dedicated Nuggets fan, and I believe the only topics to be discussed here ought to be issues relating to you, the Nuggets, and the National Basketball Association. It's fine that your a Broncos fan; but as you say yourself, it's not your area of expertise. Nuggets basketball is. This is a Nuggets blog, not a Broncos blog
Damn straight! I'm all for stability in coaching, can't really stand to see how some teams make for a revolving door, but I also don't really like to see when a coach turns the position into more of an Imperial Master of All That I Survey kind of deal. Leads to lack of accountability.
And the Broncos need more of that, for sure. Checks and balances. Let's see what some new blood, some new ideas can bring to the sidelines!
Andrew...even though I don't agree with you on the Broncos. Feel free to fire off any idea you wish.
It's all about Colorado sports. Make sure your Nuggets coverage doesn't slip, but feel free to fire off a Broncos or Rockies rip. It's part of being a true fan.
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