M. Shanahan 'was close' to returning to Broncos

[Denver Native (Carol)]

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- As he watched his son coach against the team he guided for 14 seasons Saturday, former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan revealed he was indeed poised to return as the team's coach before the 2018 season, but that "it didn't work out."

The fact that Broncos president of football operations/general manager John Elway had extensive discussions with Shanahan after the Broncos had finished 5-11 in Vance Joseph's first season as coach has been well known. But Saturday, as Shanahan watched his son Kyle lead the San Francisco 49ers in joint practices against the franchise he led to two Super Bowl wins, Mike Shanahan spoke openly about his near return to the sideline.

"I was close, I was close,'' Shanahan said. "One thing that has to happen is you all have to be on the same page. One thing you've got to make sure of when you are a head football coach that the owner, the GM, the quarterback are all on the same page. And if it doesn't happen the chances of you winning the Super Bowl aren't very good. ... I had a great conversation with John as everybody knows, it didn't work out, sometimes it works out for the right reasons.''

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27408139/m-shanahan-was-close-returning-broncos

I have a feeling Ellis messed this up

[Hawgdriver]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27408139/m-shanahan-was-close-returning-broncos

I have a feeling Ellis messed this up

I wonder why. I know about the 'process' argument that Ellis allegedly made, but that only speaks to an underlying reluctance. I have mixed thoughts on the idea of Shanny Sr. returning, but one thing is for sure, his results with the Broncos speak for themselves.

[BeefStew25]

At first I thought it said M Night Shanahan and I was like hmmmm a Denver based thriller.

[BeefStew25]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27408139/m-shanahan-was-close-returning-broncos

I have a feeling Ellis messed this up

Carol in all seriousness I think bringing him back would have been a mistake.

[Poet]

I wonder why. I know about the 'process' argument that Ellis allegedly made, but that only speaks to an underlying reluctance. I have mixed thoughts on the idea of Shanny Sr. returning, but one thing is for sure, his results with the Broncos speak for themselves.

Firing a head coach after one season is something really bad franchises do. And after Shanahan bombed in Washington, and had a rough ending here, I would have been really skeptical. With that being said, there were talks that Shanahan might have convinced Cousins to come with him. I know Cousins still gets a bad rap via his playoff record and what not, but we know Shanahan knows QB's, and preferred Cousins over RG3. There would have been potential for great success here.

TL;DR - it would have been really interesting, but meh.

[Hawgdriver]

Carol in all seriousness I think bringing him back would have been a mistake.

I do, too, Carol. Even though he owned Belichick and knew how to win championships, it would have felt off to me.

So how much of SB 50 was Ellis? Let's be honest, and I'm not sure the answer.

[BeefStew25]

You broke up for a reason. Yeah the sex was awesome.

Shanny says yeah you handle the draft.

Righhttttt. He’s type A as they come.

And goddam he was a brutal GM. Worse than McD.

[Tbolt]

Missed opportunity. Could have had us on track with a real franchise QB. How some of you can’t see that is beyond me. Ellis can screw himself.

[BeefStew25]

Missed opportunity. Could have had us on track with a real franchise QB. How some of you can’t see that is beyond me. Ellis can screw himself.

Ok I’ll bite.

You pay a guy new to you a shit load guaranteed without the benefit of at least getting his rookie deal also.

Kiss our top 5-8 defense goodbye.

[Hawgdriver]

Ok I’ll bite.

You pay a guy new to you a shit load guaranteed without the benefit of at least getting his rookie deal also.

Kiss our top 5-8 defense goodbye.

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/2/18164980/nfl-playoffs-quarterbacks-salary-cap-kirk-cousins-patrick-mahomes


The problem with teams committing so much of their cap space to quarterbacks is that it is clearly an unsuccessful strategy.

[Shazam!]

I wish he would come back in some capacity.

[Cugel]

Ellis was why Shanahan left in the first place. Ellis supposedly convinced Pat Bowlen to fire him.

On the radio they were reporting that Shanahan told Elway that there was no way Ellis would agree to bring him back, but Elway was so eager to explore discussions with Shanahan that he insisted talks.

They had the talks and Elway and Shanahan came to agreement. I would have thought like Shanahan that Ellis would never agree; normally companies never re-hire the same guy you fired. It's like saying "Oops! Turns out we shouldn't have fired you in the first place!"

No organization likes to admit publicly that they screwed up by firing Shanny and hiring Hurricane McDaniels to come in, destroy the Broncos franchise and eat their children.

Given the initial bad blood when the Broncos fired Shanahan he hasn't been back around here for years (this year he's been to training camp and Shanny and the Broncos are now close (Elway and Fangio love him).

[Shazam!]

Ellis was why Shanahan left in the first place. Ellis supposedly convinced Pat Bowlen to fire him.

On the radio they were reporting that Shanahan told Elway that there was no way Ellis would agree to bring him back, but Elway was so eager to explore discussions with Shanahan that he insisted talks.

They had the talks and Elway and Shanahan came to agreement. I would have thought like Shanahan that Ellis would never agree; normally companies never re-hire the same guy you fired. It's like saying "Oops! Turns out we shouldn't have fired you in the first place!"

No organization likes to admit publicly that they screwed up by firing Shanny and hiring Hurricane McDaniels to come in, destroy the Broncos franchise and eat their children.

Given the initial bad blood when the Broncos fired Shanahan he hasn't been back around here for years (this year he's been to training camp and Shanny and the Broncos are now close (Elway and Fangio love him).

Bro. Shanny didn't leave he was fired. And lets not forget, i know it was 10 years ago but the Team got stagnant. 08 Broncos Defense was one of the worst we ever saw, I thought 94 Broncos D was bad. To lose those last 3 games when they had everything locked in was a major failure. McD may have been the wrong hire but Shanny at the time had to go. The Detroit blowout home loss in 07 was an eye opener for me. I knew his time in Denver was over. Its a shame how it ended.

[Timmy!]

Shanny was a great coach, but a horrible GM.

[elsid13]

Shanny was a great coach, but a horrible GM.

He wasn’t as bad as GM as many make him out to be, he made mistakes but so does Belicheat.

[Northman]

I remember the talk about it but also recall Mike wanted a lot of power again and i dont think John wanted to go that route again with Shanny.

[Ziggy]

He wasn’t as bad as GM as many make him out to be, he made mistakes but so does Belicheat.

Every GM makes mistakes. Belichick is a master of maximizing draft capital. He trades down in the draft more than any GM in the league, and increases his odds of finding quality players by making more picks and increasing his odds. This wasn't his idea originally, it was Jimmy Johnson's. It's how he built a dynasty through the draft in Dallas. Belichick is also willing to let good players go rather than overpay them.

Elway made a Belichick move in the draft this year by trading down in the first. Instead of picking up Devin Bush and having to choose between Lock and Risner, he got Lock, Risner and Fant. Basically 3 shots at finding a core player instead of 2. Would it have been better to go with Bush and one of the other two? We won't know for at least a few years. After watching Elway's last 2 drafts I'm encouraged that he's starting to 'get it'.

Shanny was a horrible GM. Bad draft picks, bad trades, and bad free agent signings ran the Denver Broncos into the ground. Add in the fact that some hall of famers retired around the same time, and Shanny was done. Bowlen gave him a long leash and he finally hung himself with his personnel decisions.

[Shazam!]

He wasn’t as bad as GM as many make him out to be, he made mistakes but so does Belicheat.

Every GM makes mistakes. Belichick is a master of maximizing draft capital. He trades down in the draft more than any GM in the league, and increases his odds of finding quality players by making more picks and increasing his odds. This wasn't his idea originally, it was Jimmy Johnson's. It's how he built a dynasty through the draft in Dallas. Belichick is also willing to let good players go rather than overpay them.

Elway made a Belichick move in the draft this year by trading down in the first. Instead of picking up Devin Bush and having to choose between Lock and Risner, he got Lock, Risner and Fant. Basically 3 shots at finding a core player instead of 2. Would it have been better to go with Bush and one of the other two? We won't know for at least a few years. After watching Elway's last 2 drafts I'm encouraged that he's starting to 'get it'.

Shanny was a horrible GM. Bad draft picks, bad trades, and bad free agent signings ran the Denver Broncos into the ground. Add in the fact that some hall of famers retired around the same time, and Shanny was done. Bowlen gave him a long leash and he finally hung himself with his personnel decisions.

I think it had more to do with the state of the Defense and the team was unresponsive in that 3 game stretch in 08. Had they won the Division, Broncos woulda been a whole different state.

[Poet]

Shanahan was fired because he wouldn't budge on Bob Slowik.

Let's not overlook that god awful factoid.

He's one of the best head coaches ever. He is also BB's daddy. An offensive guru. And everything comes to an end.

[MOtorboat]

Rock out with your CoK6 out.

[dogfish]

Shanny was a great coach, but a horrible GM.

he was beyond atrocious. . . a complete, utter disaster. . . he was god-awful at building a defense, too. . . we dodged a bullet. . . i have no idea whether fangio will succeed or fail, but i'll roll with him over mike every day and twice on sunday. . . people can pine for the old days all they want, but the truth is mike just doesn't have it anymore. . . all good things come to an end, and shanny never accomplished anything of significance once elway retired. . . i woulda cried tears of bitter despair if they brought him back. . . bob effing slowick. . . 'nuff said!

[The Glue Factory]

he was beyond atrocious. . . a complete, utter disaster. . . he was god-awful at building a defense, too. . . we dodged a bullet. . . i have no idea whether fangio will succeed or fail, but i'll roll with him over mike every day and twice on sunday. . . people can pine for the old days all they want, but the truth is mike just doesn't have it anymore. . . all good things come to an end, and shanny never accomplished anything of significance once elway retired. . . i woulda cried tears of bitter despair if they brought him back. . . bob effing slowick. . . 'nuff said!

Then again, how many franchises remain playoff contenders after losing a HOF QB? Nevermind that Shanahan also saw numerous HOF players leave the team but STILL kept getting to the playoffs. I'd argue that just getting to the playoffs post Elway showed how good a coach Shanahan was. How well did San Fran do after Montana, Dallas and Aikman, or Green Bay and Favre?

[Simple Jaded]

Joe Ellis is an incompetent bag, runs in the family.

[BeefStew25]

Joe Ellis is an incompetent bag, runs in the family.

Why?

[Simple Jaded]

Why?

Not sure why, I'm not an expert on incompetent bags.

[dogfish]

How well did San Fran do after Montana, Dallas and Aikman, or Green Bay and Favre?

san fran and green bay both went on to win super bowls with their next QB. . .

[Elevation inc]

The dude wouldn't fire the most incompetent DC we had in the last 15 years in slowik because they were boys, he deserved his firing and he deserves his time back with Denver in the capacity he is now. Making him the GM or coach would just be a waste of time.

[sneakers]

it would have been nice to have him back with his deep bronze tan in the middle of december

[Shazam!]

The dude wouldn't fire the most incompetent DC we had in the last 15 years in slowik because they were boys, he deserved his firing and he deserves his time back with Denver in the capacity he is now. Making him the GM or coach would just be a waste of time.

If i had to choose between Shanny and VJ tho its Shanny and its not even close.

[Elevation inc]

If i had to choose between Shanny and VJ tho its Shanny and its not even close.

Hindsight is 20/20, but I would have fired VJ because he was incompetent after his first year with coaching decisions and showed then he was out of his element, and I wouldn't even consider Shanny because of his stupid allegiance to his boys for coaching staff even though they had mediocre resumes at times and guys like Slowik were the worst we have seen in many years instead of picking the best coaches.....

In the end it worked out best as I think Fangio is the guy to get us back to the playoffs, but Elway needs to hit another draft or 2 before he retires again to give us another legit shot at a SB I think.

[Northman]

Then again, how many franchises remain playoff contenders after losing a HOF QB? Nevermind that Shanahan also saw numerous HOF players leave the team but STILL kept getting to the playoffs. I'd argue that just getting to the playoffs post Elway showed how good a coach Shanahan was. How well did San Fran do after Montana, Dallas and Aikman, or Green Bay and Favre?

Alex Gibbs played a role in that.

[Elevation inc]

Alex Gibbs played a role in that.

For sure, and lets be clear to.....Shanny actually was a very good coach, his allegiance to bad Coordinators and crappy position coaches his last 4-5 years was a huge problem though. On top of that he was a absolute horrendous GM, I mean like if it wasn't for his coaching Pedigree He would be clowned on way more media wide then he is...like Matt Millen bad.....

[Cugel]

For sure, and lets be clear to.....Shanny actually was a very good coach, his allegiance to bad Coordinators and crappy position coaches his last 4-5 years was a huge problem though. On top of that he was a absolute horrendous GM, I mean like if it wasn't for his coaching Pedigree He would be clowned on way more media wide then he is...like Matt Millen bad.....

He was a great coach, and a "Ter-bysmal" GM. Trading up 4 spots in the first round to grab the bean-pole DE Jarvis Moss? Signing old and broken down Sam Adams on his last trip to the glue factory? Tim Crowder?

He was one of the worst GMs in football.

When he got to DC he was screwed by having a raving lunatic as an owner who insisted on RGIII as the starter, while Shanny wanted Kirk Cousins.

That battle so embittered Dan Snyder they fired Shanny to make sure RGIII had "his chance." WHen that didn't work they ran Cousins out of town.

I don't hold his Redskins record against Shanny, he was just in a bad situation.

[The Glue Factory]

san fran and green bay both went on to win super bowls with their next QB. . .

Well, I suppose there is that. :banghead:

[Shazam!]

I think were being a little hard on Shanny.

I think McD or VJ have shown things could have been worse.

[slim]

I like coaches that have super bowl rings.

[Tbolt]

Ok I’ll bite.

You pay a guy new to you a shit load guaranteed without the benefit of at least getting his rookie deal also.

Kiss our top 5-8 defense goodbye.

You may have been out of the country or in outer space or something, but it was reported part of this whole deal was Cousins would have came here on a team friendly deal to play for Shanny.

[BeefStew25]

You may have been out of the country or in outer space or something, but it was reported part of this whole deal was Cousins would have came here on a team friendly deal to play for Shanny.

To go 8-7-1? For less than $84 million guaranteed? I’m good bro.

[Elevation inc]

I think were being a little hard on Shanny.

I think McD or VJ have shown things could have been worse.


I'm not.....I said he was a great coach, a horrible GM and his stupid allegiance to his boys that were horrible coaches cost him his job here.....that's pretty much backed by facts....

[Cugel]

I think were being a little hard on Shanny.

I think McD or VJ have shown things could have been worse.

Like Ebola is worse than being bored on a rainy Sunday afternoon? Yes.

VJ is definitely the worst decision of the Elway era. In retrospect, he simply did not have a clue how to be a head coach. It's hard to understand why Elway thought he could do the job and was a "fine leader of men" and all that rot.

Yes, the decision to draft the Pirate was pretty bad and wasted maybe 5 years of screwing around without a franchise QB. Still 2nd place to VJ hire.

[Shazam!]

I think were being a little hard on Shanny.

I think McD or VJ have shown things could have been worse.


I'm not.....I said he was a great coach, a horrible GM and his stupid allegiance to his boys that were horrible coaches cost him his job here.....that's pretty much backed by facts....

The facts are the team completely fell apart thanks to McD. Same with Shanny Jr (Kubes) when people were happy he was out too.

I did want Shanahan to resign but I didn't want McDaniels to succeed him.

Wrong hires. Very poor decisions both times. VJ must be GREAT at interviews, to nail the job without the resume. At least McD had the credentials behind him.

Grass isnt always greener, but they should have went in the same direction with someone familiar with the organization.

[Elevation inc]

The facts are the team completely fell apart thanks to McD. Same with Shanny Jr (Kubes) when people were happy he was out too.

I did want Shanahan to resign but I didn't want McDaniels to succeed him.

Shannhan would not have been fired had he let Slowik and a couple others go. Ellis alluded to changes being needed 1 of which was mainly Slowik, Shanny refused, and Ellis recommended Denver move on from the staff completely by relieving Shanny. Bowlen agreed because Shanny was being dumb and pigheaded and living off past accolades despite running the depth of the team and quality players into the ground with bad drafts and then not being successful as a team because of poor surrounding staff. You can actually blame Shanny for MCD, Had he let slowik go the course of the franchise would have been completely changed with no MCD and maybe no VJ.....That could also mean however no Tebow and playoff win over Pitt, no Peyton and a SB in 2015, and even no von miller.......Hell cutler could still be in denver for all we know....

Hindsight is 20/20 now, The fact remains Shanny is and was exactly what I alluded to previously.....

[Elevation inc]

He was a great coach, and a "Ter-bysmal" GM. Trading up 4 spots in the first round to grab the bean-pole DE Jarvis Moss? Signing old and broken down Sam Adams on his last trip to the glue factory? Tim Crowder?

He was one of the worst GMs in football.

When he got to DC he was screwed by having a raving lunatic as an owner who insisted on RGIII as the starter, while Shanny wanted Kirk Cousins.

That battle so embittered Dan Snyder they fired Shanny to make sure RGIII had "his chance." WHen that didn't work they ran Cousins out of town.

I don't hold his Redskins record against Shanny, he was just in a bad situation.


I don't hold shanny's reign against him there either. Snyder is a doosh, what's really jacked up is they were good friends and it ended over Qb's...lol

Also Cousins is a middle tier starter, not elite but was clearly the better option over RG3, I was stationed in DC at the time of all this though and many people felt Snyder was trying to cater to the community using RG3 because of the minority makeup there, but most of my friends that were minorities hated RG3 and liked cousins more as well because they were fans and wanted the better Qb on the field lol. Snyder was just a clueless dumb owner....

[Shazam!]

Cousins is no world beater but he is far better than anything weve seen the past few years thats for sure. He a 2nd tier QB.

Shanny was the best thing to happen there in Wash. Gruden will be out after this Season too.