PDA

View Full Version : Shanahan says he left broncos in good shape...



broncobryce
02-27-2010, 12:46 PM
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_14478362
By Mike Klis
Posted: 02/26/2010 03:01:37 PM MST
Updated: 02/26/2010 04:14:43 PM MST

Washington coach Mike Shanahan talks at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Friday. (AP | Darron Cummings)

INDIANAPOLIS — As Mike Shanahan looked back on his coaching years with the Broncos, his pride stepped up.

Speaking at the NFL scouting combine here Friday as the new head coach of Washington Redskins, Shanahan didn't want to dwell on the moment Broncos owner Pat Bowlen called him into the office 14 months ago to fire him.

Shanahan instead recalled his success as assistant coach with Dan Reeves and 14 years as head coach that included back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997-98 and AFC championship game in 2005.

"Even the last year — or two years ago now — you look that we were an 8-8 team but I felt I left the program in pretty good shape," Shanahan said.

"Some quality of offensive players,a number of Pro Bowl players. I think they're right on the verge of being an outstanding football team."

Hey, now! Was that a veiled jab at the Broncos' current regime of Bowlen-Joe Ellis-Josh McDaniels-Brian Xanders?

Shanahan was also asked about the days following the murder of cornerback Darrent Williams on Jan. 1, 2007. Many Broncos players were with Williams in the minutes prior to his death.

What people are just finding out now regarding details of that night, Shanahan has known all along.

"Regardless of what happened, nobody deserves to die," Shanahan said. "I'm just hoping we find out who did it and justice will prevail."

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_14478362#ixzz0gl9LnlTm

broncobryce
02-27-2010, 12:48 PM
And what about defensive players Mike?;)

Northman
02-27-2010, 01:02 PM
Que the Shanny haters.

broncobryce
02-27-2010, 01:18 PM
Que the Shanny haters.

I love Mike Shanahan. Love Mcdaniels too. Shanny should succeed in Washington because they already have a pretty good defense. I thought it was funny though he said "pretty good offensive players". Didn't mention defense, although he did get us Doom.

silkamilkamonico
02-27-2010, 01:32 PM
Shanahan obviously did a good job getting us defensive talent. It's unfortunate he also obviously didn't know how to coach them.

Ravage!!!
02-27-2010, 01:40 PM
He did leave the team in good shape. Denver was considered the best opportunity for a young coach because of the offensive talent the team possessed.

broncophan
02-27-2010, 02:29 PM
I agree......he did leave the broncos in pretty good shape.....except at qb.....and McD addressed that issue right away....:).

Shanahan should definitely be proud of his years with the broncos......not many coaches spend that much time as head coach of one team......and even though his last few years were average......by no means were the broncos in "bad shape" when he was let go.....not saying that there were no issues that needed fixed...but still......not in bad shape.....

Apollo
02-28-2010, 03:51 PM
What Shanahan did with the Broncos put us on the map. Regardless of how the team was when he left, he gave our team a lot of credibility as a Football team.

Lonestar
02-28-2010, 04:24 PM
Well, I guess we all have our definitions of bad.

For the most part we were great between the 20's on offense. we sucked for almost a decade in the red zone.

For the most part the defense sucked especially with his revolving door policy with DC's.

Is that hateful enough.

He was a great Offensive mind did wonders with the ZBS.

atwater27
02-28-2010, 05:44 PM
Shanahan is a legend.

And for anyone that gives McDaniels the same respect and credit that Shanahan has earned...... Shame on you. He hasn't earned it yet.

T.K.O.
02-28-2010, 06:02 PM
well he didnt leave us with enough to beat the damn raiders or chiefs at home !:mad:
j/k at least we beat the bolts at their house !:elefant:;)

roomemp
02-28-2010, 06:20 PM
What Shanahan did with the Broncos put us on the map. Regardless of how the team was when he left, he gave our team a lot of credibility as a Football team.

The Broncos had a lot of credibilty before Shanny was even head coach. Thanks to #7.

Ziggy
02-28-2010, 07:42 PM
The Broncos had a lot of credibilty before Shanny was even head coach. Thanks to #7.

True, but they also did nothing in super bowls except get humiliated. Shanny put them over the edge with his coaching, drafting, and free agent moves. For some reason, he lost his touch in drafting and free agency after his 4th or 5th year.

Lonestar
02-28-2010, 07:57 PM
Mike was brillant in his FA moves those first few years. For the most part he did not have much competition as other coaches did not get it.

But then mike also had a really good core of players already here also notably john, sharpe, ZIM, about the only OLINE guy he brought in was stink IIRC. Elam was already here as was atwater.

He picked up afew FA and brought in a scheme that no one else had.

It was inovating and after a few years folks figured out that it was not very good in the rezone. They also figured out how to beat it. Once John and Co.was gone we won games but could not close the deal, where it counted, in the Playoffs.

Ziggy
02-28-2010, 08:25 PM
Shanny brought in Stink via free agency and traded for Tony Jones. Jones was a huge pickup because he moved to LT after Zim retired and protected Elway's blindside during his last season and Super bowl. He also brought in Neil Smith, Howard Griffith, Eddie Mac, Bill Romanowski, Alfred Williams, and Kieth Traylor via free agency. There are more, but those are the ones that come immediately to mind. Shanny was miles ahead of the rest of the league as a GM during those first few years.

Lonestar
02-28-2010, 08:56 PM
Shanny brought in Stink via free agency and traded for Tony Jones. Jones was a huge pickup because he moved to LT after Zim retired and protected Elway's blindside during his last season and Super bowl. He also brought in Neil Smith, Howard Griffith, Eddie Mac, Bill Romanowski, Alfred Williams, and Kieth Traylor via free agency. There are more, but those are the ones that come immediately to mind. Shanny was miles ahead of the rest of the league as a GM during those first few years.

Yep I agree he was but it went down hill after the HOF group retired. imho

turftoad
02-28-2010, 11:02 PM
He left the team in great shape except for few defensive players. He knew that.
I'm sure he knew he needed to fix that. He wasn't stupid.

GEM
03-01-2010, 12:01 AM
He left the team in great shape except for few defensive players. He knew that.
I'm sure he knew he needed to fix that. He wasn't stupid.

He wouldn't drop Slowik on his ass and he put his job on it. I do question some form of stupidity there. I loved Shanny, but he didn't have the kahunas to do what needed to be done on defense. Drop your buddy and find someone of real caliber, even if they were a former head coach. He let his ego stand in the way of what was best for the franchise. Just my opinion.

silkamilkamonico
03-01-2010, 12:03 AM
He left the team in great shape except for few defensive players. He knew that.
I'm sure he knew he needed to fix that. He wasn't stupid.

Defensively, he was that stupid. It's why he was fired basically. Decisions from the players, to the schemes, to the changes he made on the coaching staff on defense proved he didn't have a f'n clue what he was doing on defense.

Such a shame, great offensive mind. Equally inept defensively.

atwater27
03-01-2010, 05:12 AM
Defensively, he was that stupid. It's why he was fired basically. Decisions from the players, to the schemes, to the changes he made on the coaching staff on defense proved he didn't have a f'n clue what he was doing on defense.

Such a shame, great offensive mind. Equally inept defensively.

And we'd still be winless in the Super Bowl, much less have 2 rings, without him. And you show your appreciation by calling him stupid? I sure would love to see the results of an IQ test between Shanny and you all that question his intelligence. That is what cracks me up about these fan boards. They are full of folks that have somehow come to believe that they are better, smarter and tougher than the players and coaches they have somehow grown to dislike. And funnier still, this turncoat mentality that happens when the players or coaches find themselves not on the team anymore. So fickle these fans are nowadays, lost in their own self serving reality.

GEM
03-01-2010, 10:17 AM
And we'd still be winless in the Super Bowl, much less have 2 rings, without him. And you show your appreciation by calling him stupid? I sure would love to see the results of an IQ test between Shanny and you all that question his intelligence. That is what cracks me up about these fan boards. They are full of folks that have somehow come to believe that they are better, smarter and tougher than the players and coaches they have somehow grown to dislike. And funnier still, this turncoat mentality that happens when the players or coaches find themselves not on the team anymore. So fickle these fans are nowadays, lost in their own self serving reality.

Why does calling out Shanny's performance the last couple years have to entail that we're saying his whole time here was bad? NO ONE IS SAYING THAT!! 2 Super Bowls 10 years ago doesn't give you a free pass to run a franchise into the dirt. Call a spade a spade. Shanny was bad with defense, that's a proven fact, not just some Hate Shanny rhetoric.

I absolutely loved Shanny, I thank him for what he was able to do and wish he would have been able to put someone else in charge of defense. I don't love where this franchise has gone since. I'm not much up on getting blown out in the playoffs year after year with the likes of Roc Alexander and as time wore on not even making the playoffs.

That doesn't mean I don't appreciate what Shanny did for my team. I'll always be thankful, but I'm also thankful that Bowlen isn't content with settling with those 2 Super Bowls 10 years ago.

Broncolingus
03-01-2010, 10:27 AM
I think the offense was more or less always fine...although, the lack of red zone scoring and 'wearing down' (I guess that's the best way to describe) of the O-line in the second half of the year became routine...

Other side of the ball, LBs and secondary always seemed to be okay (or nominal) as well, but...

Defensive line was something that Shanny never could seem to get a grip on – particularly in the from 05’ on - although, I do think he sincerely tried.

I can't think of a better example of how much one can illustrate the importance of a good (if not above average or great) defensive line is to a team playing (or being competitive) in January...

I’m glad and grateful for Shanahan and his time in Denver, and what he did for the organization…

Lonestar
03-01-2010, 11:02 AM
Defensively, he was that stupid. It's why he was fired basically. Decisions from the players, to the schemes, to the changes he made on the coaching staff on defense proved he didn't have a f'n clue what he was doing on defense.

Such a shame, great offensive mind. Equally inept defensively.


Your last sentence got to me.

One would think that being brilliant beating defenses with your offense would give you some clue, on/about what needed to be done on Defense.

But that did not seem to be the case.

Ravage!!!
03-01-2010, 11:14 AM
I th ink its funny when I read people say that Shanahan 'ran this team into the ground.' Nothing could be FARTHER from the truth.

GEM
03-01-2010, 11:20 AM
I th ink its funny when I read people say that Shanahan 'ran this team into the ground.' Nothing could be FARTHER from the truth.

It was well on it's way. 1 playoff win. Numerous playoff appearances mostly ending in blowouts. Then the last 3 years even the high powered offense couldn't save just how far the defense had fallen. No, it wasn't horrible, we got to enjoy some football, but we were nowhere near the promise land and the ship was sinking.

Ravage!!!
03-01-2010, 11:33 AM
It was well on it's way. 1 playoff win. Numerous playoff appearances mostly ending in blowouts. Then the last 3 years even the high powered offense couldn't save just how far the defense had fallen. No, it wasn't horrible, we got to enjoy some football, but we were nowhere near the promise land and the ship was sinking.

I understand that. But I think that's a far cry from being "run into the ground."

Using examples from the thread, and using past examples of other teams and franchises over the years.....yes, this team went down after losing such a high quality team. It takes time to rebuild and replace that fantastic talent.

Look at the Patriots. They haven't lost near the talent that the Broncos had. They haven't lost their premiere QB or any kind stud RB...yet they lost enough of their SB team that they are looking to go "down." They still have Brady, so they will always be contenders. Even though we weren't premiere, we were contenders while taking time to rebuild.

The truth of the matter is (in my opinion) is that we were JUST building our way back up again. Some want to say "yeah, but it took 10 years" .. others that have been watching football for a long time and aren't an impatient teenager, know that thats not really THAT long for teams in the NFL to be between SBs. Look at the Bills and 49ers. Look at the Cowboys.

So I don't think that the team was run into the ground, and I think SHanahan left this team in fantastic shape. The offense was considered to be one of the very best, and youngest, in the NFL while being considered to be the BEST place for a new coach to go because of all the young stud talent that was here. So that doesn't seem to be "run into the ground" to me. I do agree that things go stagnant, and teams need to move on.

It was Shanahan's time to move on (or have him moved on, however you want to look at it)... but I don't think wining the 3rd most games in the NFL over the last 10 years (without Elway) is weak, nor is it poor, nor is it being run into the ground.

CoachChaz
03-01-2010, 11:39 AM
Run into the ground is a bit far-fetched. If I had to choose one word to describe what was happening, it would be "stale". Things got predictable and the play that use to make us excel was old news. The team was in need of something fresh. Bothe the Broncos AND Shanny needed a change

Shazam!
03-01-2010, 11:43 AM
Shanahan got stale. He stayed around far too long. He thought he had infinite job security which made him too lackadaisical.

I think he shouldve left when Elway retired, in a "My job is done here... I did what we set out to do... This team is far better than when I arrived..." etc kind of thing, as I said all along.

Either way, were you expecting him to say "I left Denver a trainwreck, with a predictable offense, terrible special teams and almost the worst defense in the NFL for two straight years"?

GEM
03-01-2010, 11:48 AM
I understand that. But I think that's a far cry from being "run into the ground."

Using examples from the thread, and using past examples of other teams and franchises over the years.....yes, this team went down after losing such a high quality team. It takes time to rebuild and replace that fantastic talent.

Look at the Patriots. They haven't lost near the talent that the Broncos had. They haven't lost their premiere QB or any kind stud RB...yet they lost enough of their SB team that they are looking to go "down." They still have Brady, so they will always be contenders. Even though we weren't premiere, we were contenders while taking time to rebuild.

The truth of the matter is (in my opinion) is that we were JUST building our way back up again. Some want to say "yeah, but it took 10 years" .. others that have been watching football for a long time and aren't an impatient teenager, know that thats not really THAT long for teams in the NFL to be between SBs. Look at the Bills and 49ers. Look at the Cowboys.

So I don't think that the team was run into the ground, and I think SHanahan left this team in fantastic shape. The offense was considered to be one of the very best, and youngest, in the NFL while being considered to be the BEST place for a new coach to go because of all the young stud talent that was here. So that doesn't seem to be "run into the ground" to me. I do agree that things go stagnant, and teams need to move on.

It was Shanahan's time to move on (or have him moved on, however you want to look at it)... but I don't think wining the 3rd most games in the NFL over the last 10 years (without Elway) is weak, nor is it poor, nor is it being run into the ground.

I don't think a lot of us take the time to seperate out the offense and defense. Offense was always top notch. The defense much the opposite. If you could have polar opposites on the same team, we did. And it didn't look to get much better when you draft a Jarvis Moss. I really do wish that Shanny had just let someone else deal with defense and he stuck to what he was really good at.

Ravage!!!
03-01-2010, 11:52 AM
Run into the ground is a bit far-fetched. If I had to choose one word to describe what was happening, it would be "stale". Things got predictable and the play that use to make us excel was old news. The team was in need of something fresh. Bothe the Broncos AND Shanny needed a change

I think this is it more than anything else. I was on the edge with that when it happened. One side said "the players, the coaches, and anyone in between has just heard it all before. Its time."

The other side saw that we were just FINALLY getting the offensive pieces together with a couple of great drafts, and a scouting team philosophy that really seemed to be getting on the right page. A young offense with loads of talent, with Mike coaching was EXACTLY what we've been looking for, for a decade.

But I think stale is the right word. I guess that when you see that Cowher was nearly run out of town by the fans the couple years prior to getting his team put together, I saw us on the cusp of that very thing happening. So it was a back-n-forth feel for me.

broncofaninfla
03-01-2010, 12:53 PM
I can't help but think that Shanny is building something special in Washington. I'm optimistic Mcd has learned some valuable lessons from last season and has the team headed in the direction he wants them in. We'll find out if thats good enough in time....

CoachChaz
03-01-2010, 01:03 PM
The benefit Shanny has is that he has an owner (like him or not) that is passionate about the team and will do whatever it takes to win games.

shank
03-01-2010, 01:26 PM
Que the Shanny haters.

que the shanny hater queuers

broncofaninfla
03-01-2010, 02:04 PM
The benefit Shanny has is that he has an owner (like him or not) that is passionate about the team and will do whatever it takes to win games.

I see Bolwen with the same willing to do what it takes commitment. Bowlen doesn't seem to get involved with the day to day operations like Snider does though.

CoachChaz
03-01-2010, 02:15 PM
I see Bolwen with the same willing to do what it takes commitment. Bowlen doesn't seem to get involved with the day to day operations like Snider does though.

Agreed. Guys like Snider and Jones seem as though their meddling could be detrimental to the team, but at the end of the day, it's desire for success and the willingness to be hands on with their investment that...to a certain degree...have to be respected

Spiritguy
03-01-2010, 02:26 PM
He wouldn't drop Slowik on his ass and he put his job on it. I do question some form of stupidity there. I loved Shanny, but he didn't have the kahunas to do what needed to be done on defense. Drop your buddy and find someone of real caliber, even if they were a former head coach. He let his ego stand in the way of what was best for the franchise. Just my opinion.

Agree totally Gem. Would just add to stick with the person for more than a season.

silkamilkamonico
03-01-2010, 04:28 PM
And we'd still be winless in the Super Bowl, much less have 2 rings, without him.

Nobody's taking his SuperBowls away from him. I do find it funny that, because he won 2 SuperBowls over 10 years ago, you decided it was apparently ok to be the worst AFCWest team over a period of 10 years when talking in terms of division titles, and playoff wins.

"Hey, who cares if he can't win playoff games. The guy won SuperBowls over 10 years ago."

So did Joe Gibbs.



And you show your appreciation by calling him stupid? I sure would love to see the results of an IQ test between Shanny and you all that question his intelligence. That is what cracks me up about these fan boards.

WHat cracks me up is you, failing to understand the difference between an NFL head coach "who gets paid to win", and an armchari fanbase that has to put up with playoff blowot loss after playoff blowout loss over a period of 10 years after.




They are full of folks that have somehow come to believe that they are better, smarter and tougher than the players and coaches they have somehow grown to dislike. And funnier still, this turncoat mentality that happens when the players or coaches find themselves not on the team anymore. So fickle these fans are nowadays, lost in their own self serving reality.

Please tell me, you seriously do not look at a course of a decade, and seeing 1 measley playoff win, and actually thinking he's doing a great job.

People sit and are enamored with the great offense he put together in the last couple years and that's fine. I'll just call it how it is. 8-8, and no playoffs for them. Forget playoffs, that "great offense" couldn't even get Denver to a .500 record.

broncophan
03-01-2010, 04:38 PM
What Shanahan did with the Broncos put us on the map. Regardless of how the team was when he left, he gave our team a lot of credibility as a Football team.

The broncos were "on the map" well, before Shanahan arrived......and you don't win AFC championships and not have credibility as a football team.I credit him,Elway and others for the SB championships.....but let's not get carried away here with other stuff.........

silkamilkamonico
03-01-2010, 04:48 PM
I can't help but think that Shanny is building something special in Washington. ...

Regardless of how I feel the last 10 years went with him, I'll always really like Shanahan and will cheer for him in Washington. I think he has a good setup. The defense is very strong, and he's going to build the offense around there in no time because he's great at it.

The one thing I will be curious to see is how much he'll stay true to his ZBS with smaller linemen, because that division is a pure physical power division, and Shanahan has struggled against big and strong defenses in the past, IMHO.

broncophan
03-01-2010, 05:17 PM
Regardless of how I feel the last 10 years went with him, I'll always really like Shanahan and will cheer for him in Washington. I think he has a good setup. The defense is very strong, and he's going to build the offense around there in no time because he's great at it.

The one thing I will be curious to see is how much he'll stay true to his ZBS with smaller linemen, because that division is a pure physical power division, and Shanahan has struggled against big and strong defenses in the past, IMHO.

I agree......I will root for him as well.....and hope he is successful.......
I always rooted for Reeves to do well after he left Denver as well.
For some reason.......I can't say the same about Wade Phillips
though.....never cared much for him as a head coach ......for the broncos....

atwater27
03-01-2010, 08:16 PM
Nobody's taking his SuperBowls away from him. I do find it funny that, because he won 2 SuperBowls over 10 years ago, you decided it was apparently ok to be the worst AFCWest team over a period of 10 years when talking in terms of division titles, and playoff wins.

"Hey, who cares if he can't win playoff games. The guy won SuperBowls over 10 years ago."

So did Joe Gibbs.



WHat cracks me up is you, failing to understand the difference between an NFL head coach "who gets paid to win", and an armchari fanbase that has to put up with playoff blowot loss after playoff blowout loss over a period of 10 years after.




Please tell me, you seriously do not look at a course of a decade, and seeing 1 measley playoff win, and actually thinking he's doing a great job.

People sit and are enamored with the great offense he put together in the last couple years and that's fine. I'll just call it how it is. 8-8, and no playoffs for them. Forget playoffs, that "great offense" couldn't even get Denver to a .500 record.

Not every team can win all the time. Good ballclubs come in waves, it is simply too competitive a league to have such high expectations from the fans. 32 teams. Sorry, not every team can be the Pats. The parity is incredible. I just hope you share the same disdain fro McDaniels that you have for Shanahan if we don't win the Super Bowl next season.

broncobryce
03-01-2010, 08:54 PM
Regardless of how I feel the last 10 years went with him, I'll always really like Shanahan and will cheer for him in Washington. I think he has a good setup. The defense is very strong, and he's going to build the offense around there in no time because he's great at it.

The one thing I will be curious to see is how much he'll stay true to his ZBS with smaller linemen, because that division is a pure physical power division, and Shanahan has struggled against big and strong defenses in the past, IMHO.

That is a fantastic point. It will be interesting to see how he handles that.

tsiguy96
03-01-2010, 09:05 PM
people need to realize taht you can criticize shanahan and believe he was NOT making good coach/GM decisions without taking credit away from him for winning consecutive super bowls.

we are all aware he won those super bowls and are very thankful, but that happened over 10 years ago, and he only won a single playoff game since. he had a lot of time to build a contender but teh defense was going in the wrong direction and bowlen saw that, so he made a change, and realistically a good choice for us and shanahan. maybe with shanahan being out a year, he can take a real step back and see what he did wrong, and maybe he will correct it and be the great coach we knew in denver. i hope he does well, but im very glad hes not our coach anymore.

silkamilkamonico
03-01-2010, 09:26 PM
Not every team can win all the time. Good ballclubs come in waves, it is simply too competitive a league to have such high expectations from the fans. 32 teams. Sorry, not every team can be the Pats.

An entire decade of football. 10 years. We're aren't talking about Shanahan's only disappointing 3 years left, after he got his franchise QB and couldn't even give us a winning record. We're talking 10 years.



I just hope you share the same disdain fro McDaniels that you have for Shanahan if we don't win the Super Bowl next season.

If Shanahan got 3 years of no playoff football with his franchise QB who couldn't produce a winning record, and that after 7 years of non progressive football that never got better with the exception of the one year in which Shanahan failed to build off of, McDaniels, or any other coach hired is going to get at least 3 himself.

And I've already stated my stance on McDaniels several times. Despite all the turmoil and questionable decisions he's made that a lot of the fanbase like to bag on him for, he still left us with a product on the field comparable to Shanahan's last 3 years. That's an unargued fact. If he can actually show some progress within the organization on the field, something Denver hasn't seen in 10 years, he's going to be fine.

Shazam!
03-01-2010, 10:46 PM
Shanahan gave the Broncos a new image after their Super Bowl years.

They got a new image too under Shanahan in his later years.

Playoff doormats, horrible defense, poorly conditioned, uninspired, lazy, etc.

Shazam!
03-02-2010, 02:09 AM
I can't help but think that Shanny is building something special in Washington.

Im not sure what would lead you to say that on March 1st.