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?