Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Apparently, they've lost their minds in Denver

Well, read all about it right here -- the Denver Broncos have fired head coach Mike Shanahan.

Yes, that makes a lot of sense. After all, Shanahan hasn't achieved much -- just a couple of Super Bowl championships and a record of 130-78 over the past 14 years. That, by the way, is a winning percentage of .625, second in Broncos franchise history to Red Miller who was coach from 1977 to 1980 and compiled a winning percentage of .640.

And Shanahan's only installed one of the most potent running games in the country at a team that was notoriously inept at rushing prior to his arrival.

What did Shanahan do wrong? Apparently, missing the championships with an 8-8 record this season got him canned. Of course, it's a bit rare when the Broncos aren't in the playoffs these days and Shanahan had to deal with a slew of injuries throughout the season, but that doesn't matter much, seemingly.

Denver has canned the best coach the team has had. Period. They'll regret that decision, as will we longtime Broncos fans out there. God only knows who Denver will drag up to replace Shanahan. I shudder to think. Is there any available coach out there who will be an improvement over Shanahan? That's doubtful.

Now, I'm well aware that Broncos fans go nuts over football. Let's go back to the 1990 season for a minute. Of course, Denver got killed by San Francisco in the 1990 Super Bowl and the team simply struggled when the regular season began in the fall.

How did fans react? One lady at a home game in Mile High Stadium sprayed a bunch of opposing fans with Mace as Denver was losing. Another Denver resident, distraught after a home loss, went back to his house after the game, held his wife and kids at gunpoint and ranted for awhile until he surrendered to the police. A radio sports announcer in Denver swore he'd broadcast from on top of a billboard until Denver won a game. He was up there for a few weeks in the miserably cold Denver weather.

There's no doubt there was a lot of pressure on Denver's ownership to make a change, considering how hardcore Broncos fans tend to be. Still, firing Shanahan -- the only coach in the team's history to bring a Super Bowl title to Denver -- is a bonehead move and one team owner Pat Bowlen will regret. You're an idiot, Bowlen, and you're setting your team up to be the NFL's whipping boy next year.

If I hadn't been a Bronco's fan for over 30 years, I'd say Bowlen and his team are about to get what they deserve.

6 comments:

Mystery Man said...

*SIGH* just goes to show that the NFL is a what have you done for me lately league. yeah, the Broncos collapsed at the end of the season, but they still had a winning record, at least they weren't 0-16 like the Lions. All they needed was to get healkthy and a better defense. guess that wasn't enough for Bowlen and those in Denver.

I do wonder who they'll get. I',m hoping its someone proven, though. you're kind of flipping a coin with these coordinators getting jobs. The guys in Baltimore and Atlanta got lucky this year. Sporano down in Miami had Parcells in his ear...lol and Zorn folded under the pressure...lol

Paul Eilers said...

My first thought when I saw this on the ESPN ticker was, "I wonder how this will affect Peyton Hillis?"

Ivanhoe said...

I hope he considers to work for Cleveland Browns. I'd be a fan again ;o)
Happy New Year!

Mike Golch said...

I know they can hire the guy that cleveland fired.

Da Old Man said...

I wonder if the sudden availabilty of Bill Cowher had anything to do with it.
I do know losing the last 3, including the humiliating last game to San Dego didn't help. And, as they say, you can't fire the whole team.

Have a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year.

HawgWyld said...

Mystery Man -- Who knows what kind of coach they'll dig up for Denver. Who in their right mind would want to follow Shanahan?

Paul -- Ah, Hillis will probably wind up in a system with a far less successful run game. I'm sure he'll be thrilled.

Idiots in Denver...

Ivanhoe -- That would be great for Cleveland. Happy New Year to you, too.

Mike Golch -- Argh! No!

Da old Man -- They'll need someone like Cowher to keep the fans from picking up torches and rioting in the streets.