Happy New Year (and let's toast the end of one-party rule)!...

by Andrew Feinstein on Dec 31, 2008 1:11 AM MST

With Mike Shanahan's empire finally toppled, 2009 is already shaping up to be a better year. Shanny might still be a decent coach, but he was clearly spread too thin as the Broncos' Emperor-in-Chief. We can only wonder what might have been had Shanny spent all those hours actually coaching instead of "scouting" for the draft, getting Travis Henry out of trouble or managing the salary cap.

With a few, very rare exceptions like Pat Riley in Miami and Gregg Popovich in San Antonio (although they both have partners on the General Manager level), having the same person be head coach and team president almost never works out in professional sports. Especially if that person's first name is Mike - like Mike Dunleavy (didn't work in Milwaukee and now it's not working in Los Angeles), Mike Holmgren and, of course, Mike Shanahan - or Isiah, the all-time worst coach/team president in professional sports history.

The Nuggets in particular have been subjected to some disastrous one-party rulers. See Bickerstaff, Bernie and Issel, Dan.

And to think George Karl (allegedly) wanted to supplant Kiki Vandeweghe and control the Nuggets personnel decisions a few years back. For those of you who believe he doesn't give a full effort as coach, imagine him holding both jobs? Yeesh!

Now if the Nuggets could just win a playoff series or - god forbid - two, 2009 could be a great year indeed.

I was hoping to do a longer post tonight but I'm scrambling to get my real work done before taking off tomorrow. Unfortunately I won't be able to watch the next two games against Toronto and Oklahoma City, but I should be back in time for the New Orleans game on Saturday.

Beware of the OKC game on Friday night. It'll be the day after New Year's and those yahoos in Thunder jerseys can't lose every night. READ: Trap Game!

To my fellow Stiffs: have a great and safe New Year's and don't get caught drunk driving on Santa Fe Blvd (an admitted cheap shot).

And GO NUGGETS!!

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I'd like to see us go after Bill Cowher now.

Cowher will want personnel decision making authority, but if that could be negotiated to be shared... why not?

I seriously wondered yesterday about the timing of the Cowher wanting to talk to the Jets, then all the sudden the "no thanks" to them, followed about an hour or so later by the announcement of the Shanny firing.

I'm hoping that's NOT a coincidence. Let's face it, if there's a team that could lure Cowher out of the announcers booth, it'd be a storied franchise like the Broncos...

by Eric K on Dec 31, 2008 9:49 AM MST reply actions

I don't think Cowher is the right answer for any team. Once they win a super bowl, coaches tend to lose some of their fire, their drive, the need to prove themselves. To win a super bowl, you have to be over-committed, and Cower seems to have lost that. There aren't any coaches that have changed teams and won a second super bowl for a reason. The much better choice would be to hire Scott Pioli and let him run things. I don't think Cowher will wind up coaching anywhere this year - he promised his family that he would stay out until his daughter graduates from High School.

We can expect a low energy game tonight. Melo and the rest will be looking to start partying early and won't want to be tired. Feels like a loss.

by KarlSucks on Dec 31, 2008 11:09 AM MST reply actions

Can you believe that that scrub Karl just got 900 wins. UBELIEVABLE!

by Anonymous on Dec 31, 2008 8:20 PM MST reply actions

Ok, good to be back from vacation but I am kind of bumbed about the Shanahan firing and not happy to see him holding down the #1 "stiff" on a basketball blog. Come on Andrew, he got fired, give him some slack here. Wheather or not you agree or disagree with the firing the fact of the matter is Shannahan brought us our first Superbowl win ever and added on to it the next year with back to backs, something this state is very proud of. He also averaged 10 wins over his tenure with only 2 loosing seasons and took us to the AFC title game only 3 years ago, which if we won we would have won another Super Bowl (most likely). The fact is, Shan is a great coach, a HOFer, and a top 5 coach in the league as we speak. I agree that things probably got stale but this descision was just too hasty and not thought out enough for me. Shanahan drafts some of the best players ever and loosing that is really going to hurt, along with all the success he has brought us. I hope we can find another diamond in the rough like Shanahan cuz from what I have heard we arn't going after any big name guys. I am scared now, the Broncos were kind of my Colorado Sporst security blanket, but with Shanahan gone and Karl still at the healm, I think Colorado Sports have officially ended.

by Goldennugget on Dec 31, 2008 11:08 PM MST reply actions

Hey GoldenNugget -

I put the Stiff List up after the Broncos lost to the Chargers, NOT after he got fired. But I agree - now that he's been fired its time to give the guy a break. I'll put up a new Stiff List when I have time during the New Year's break.

by Andrew on Dec 31, 2008 11:56 PM MST reply actions

Shanahan's drafts weren't all great. I mean the draft two years ago was a complete debacle. i personally am hoping for Pioli as the GM and Spagnulo as the new coach, let Bates become our new offensive coordinator

by Zachm219 on Jan 1, 2009 3:48 PM MST reply actions

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STIFF LIST (as of 4/26 by Andrew Feinstein)

1. METTA WORLD PEACE

Metta resorted back to Ron Ron last Sunday by clubbing James Hardenwith an "inadvertent celebratory elbow", landing him a 7-game suspension. Apparently, changing his name didn't prevent NBA commissioner David Stern from overlooking Metta's past behavior problems.

2. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

The 'Cats are on the verge of securing the worst winning percentage in NBA history. Given that the guy who runs the team - Michael Jordan - had previously drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison, should this really be a shock?

3. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The team that was supposedly built to overcome the lockout-shortened season managed to lose 7 of its last 14 games, ceding the Western Conference's 1-seed to the Spurs in the process. Their reward might be a first round matchup with defending champion Dallas.

4. BILLY HUNTER AND DEREK FISHER

With report after report coming out about NBPA union head Hunter's shady, nepotistic dealings and questions arising about Fisher's own role in dealing with NBA owners behind Hunter's back during the lockout, this off-the-court scandal could prove to be more exciting than the playoffs themselves!

5. STEVE NASH AND THE PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns are on this list for squandering the last few great seasons from Nash. Nash is on this list for his stupidly stubborn loyalty to a franchise as awful as the Suns.