Thread: One Last Salute To Mike Shanahan

Having been a Broncos fan for more than 35 years now, I wanted to pay one last tribute to Mike Shanahan, the greatest coach in franchise history. Prior to his regime, Denver had accumulated just 15 winning seasons in the prior 35 years. They had 4 Super Bowl appearances, losing them all by a combined score of 163-50. Hall of Fame QB John Elway's window of opportunity to win a championship was growing ever narrower, and Broncos fans were filled with frustration.

Enter Mike Shanahan. He took over the reigns as Head Coach and GM following the 1994-95 season. Fans and players were familiar with Mike, as he had served the Broncos as QB coach in 1984-85, and 1989-91. He was also the Offensive Coordinator from 1986-1987. Fresh off of his Super Bowl win as Offensive Coordinator for the San Francisco 49'ers, Shanahan made his return to the Mile High City.

1995 was a building year, but the foundation was being established. The Broncos finished at 8-8. The next season, the Broncos improved to 13-3 but were shocked in the playoffs with a home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The next 2 seasons brought Super Bowl victories and a winning tradition to Denver. Shanahan would finish his Head Coaching career in Denver with a regular season record of 138-86, a playoff record of 8-5, and a Super Bowl record of 2-0.

Though some fans will point to his errors in personnel aquisitions from free agency and the draft as his downfall, I will always remember the moves that helped this team to 2 championships and ended our string of Super Bowl humiliations. Without free agents like Neil Smith, Keith Traylor, Alfred Williams, Bill Romonawski, and Mark Schlereth, the main legacy of this franchise might still be that of Super Bowl doormats. There were many mistakes in the draft, but I will remember guys like Tom Nalen, Al Wilson, Dan Niel, Trevor Pryce, and of course, Terrell Davis.

I cannot speak for all Broncos fans, so I am speaking only for myself. Thank you Mike Shanahan, for rescuing long time Broncos fans from mediocrity and humiliation. Thank you for helping John Elway to have a storybook ending to his career. Thank you for creating a new tradition here in Denver. One that not only hopes for, but demands success out of it's football franchise.
As a loyal Broncos fan, I will move on and I will cheer whole-heartedly for the new Head Coach. I hope that he can surpass the bar that you have set here for all coaches in Dever to be measured against. What I will not do however, is forget what you have accomplished during your tenure. I thank you sir, and I salute you.

Neg Rep

Originally Posted by DallasChief

Yikes, that's a disturbing image! It was nice while it lasted, but a new direction was certainly what we needed. I hope for the best for Mike, but if he decides to wear red and white, then all love is lost. Go get 'em McD.

Good stuff Zig!

Great homage, Ziggy! Classy tribute to a classy coach.

Originally Posted by DallasChief

Troll.

Great post Ziggy. When reading it, you mentioned Alfred Williams. As a side note, I was listening to him on FM104.3TheFan yesterday. Alfred gets very excited the week before the SuperBowl. Yesterday, he was talking with Howard Griffin, and they were reminiscing about playing Green Bay. Alfred ask Howard if he remembered the following - then you heard Pat Bowlen's famous words "This one's for John". Alfred then said, I was thinking to myself "What the hell - this one's for Alfred", and then he broke out in his famous Alfred laugh.

Originally Posted by Denver Native (Carol)

Great post Ziggy. When reading it, you mentioned Alfred Williams. As a side note, I was listening to him on FM104.3TheFan yesterday. Alfred gets very excited the week before the SuperBowl. Yesterday, he was talking with Howard Griffin, and they were reminiscing about playing Green Bay. Alfred ask Howard if he remembered the following - then you heard Pat Bowlen's famous words "This one's for John". Alfred then said, I was thinking to myself "What the hell - this one's for Alfred", and then he broke out in his famous Alfred laugh.

I can picture him saying that and breaking out in that deep goofy laugh. Nice story Carol, thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by DallasChief

Im not to sure Pioli will go for this. I have a gut feeling that he will get his own coach from some where else.

Originally Posted by warcrychief

Im not to sure Pioli will go for this. I have a gut feeling that he will get his own coach from some where else.

The only reason I can see Pioli waiting this long is to nab a coach form either Carolina or Pittsburgh's staff.

Originally Posted by Ziggy

The only reason I can see Pioli waiting this long is to nab a coach form either Carolina or Pittsburgh's staff.

I'd laugh hysterically if he tried to get Dick LeBeau.

Originally Posted by Ziggy

I cannot speak for all Broncos fans, so I am speaking only for myself. Thank you Mike Shanahan, for rescuing long time Broncos fans from mediocrity and humiliation. Thank you for helping John Elway to have a storybook ending to his career. Thank you for creating a new tradition here in Denver. One that not only hopes for, but demands success out of it's football franchise.
As a loyal Broncos fan, I will move on and I will cheer whole-heartedly for the new Head Coach. I hope that he can surpass the bar that you have set here for all coaches in Dever to be measured against. What I will not do however, is forget what you have accomplished during your tenure. I thank you sir, and I salute you.

No. . . You may have writen the post but IMHO you are speaking for the majority of the pre-Shanahan fans. Those that remember that winning is not a God given right and appreciate who got us here. Mike had an ability to obtain talent through trades but once all teams began to value free agency he came up snake eyes too often.

When we lost the AFCCG he decided to rebuild. His drafts since then have been outstanding. He had the offense tuned and ready to go. Now, I hope McKid (I can not believe how young he looks) does something positive with the defense.

Nice article Ziggy.

Regardless of what some people think you just can't wish the facts into non existence. Shanahan coached the this team to back to back Super Bowl wins and won more games than any of his predecessors. This final salute is well deserved.

Originally Posted by DallasChief

you should be tarred and feathered and hung from the scoreboard at Mile High.