Mile-High Disgrace
Normally, I find the college and pro football writings of ESPN.com’s Pat Forde light hearted and entertaining to read. However, after reading today’s article regarding the firing of the Broncos’ Mike Shanahan, Mr. Forde might want to stick to the fluff pieces and stay away from the serious analysis.
Forde praises Broncos’ owner Pat Bowlen for making the difficult decision to hand Shanahan the pink slip. Pointing toward a lone playoff win since John Elway retired; Forde argues the organization has been in a steady decline ever since, due to Shanahan’s personnel decisions and love affair with quarterback Jay Cutler.
In interest of full disclosure, Forde does divulge he is a lifetime Broncos fan. In my opinion, Forde’s fanatical behavior is better suited for a tailgate outside of Mile High than a reputable sports information website.
Sure the Broncos have not won a Super Bowl in 10 years. Who has? The list really is not that long with the Patriots taking up close to a third of the championships. Look at the other teams in that division. San Diego has been talented but chokes it away in the playoffs while Oakland and Kansas City have been in disarray (not counting Oakland’s one Superbowl appearance).
While Shanahan has made some questionable personnel decisions, how is he supposed to keep players from getting hurt? Al Wilson was the heart and soul of that defense until injury ended his career, and at one point, the Broncos were down to their 5th string tailback. This brings us to Cutler. He is playing with a 5th string tailback. John Elway had Terrell Davis in their heyday.
Cutler also had to have a gunslinger mentality when he carried a Vanderbilt team to overachievement during his collegiate career. He is going to continue to grow and the running backs will eventually heal. The Broncos can use the bulk of their draft picks on defense in order to be legitimate contenders once again in 2009.
Sadly, Forde decides to mouth the script of fans across the modern sporting world. What have you done for me lately, coach? Although, many salaries dictate close scrutiny of bodies of work by the men who lead their teams and organizations, a coach like Shanahan deserves to keep his job when he consistently produces a winning team in a league praised for its parity.
Stick to the jokes Forde when you are knocking back the orange and blue kool-aid.
January 1st, 2009 at 10:31 am
I am in the camp that was caught off guard by the Shanahan firing. And while I wasn’t crazy about the Forde article, I do agree with him to an extent. Firing Shanahan was good move for the Broncos. That is a program that has slowly been on a downward trend for the past few years. Mainly I think that MS was not able to be GM and coach, his ability to evaluate talent was slipping. Perhaps bringing in a GM would have been an easier move to make and keep MS, but it was doubtful that he was willing to let go of his role.
Dwalks last blog post..College Football Pick’em News Years Day Games
January 1st, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I was completely caught off guard as well. I couldn’t believe it at first, but then after seeing the stats I could completely understand the move. Mediocrity doesn’t fly in the NFL even for an established coach of Shanahan’s stature.
I agree with DWalk that his GM responsibilities were the reason why his teams were slipping, but I don’t think it was his talent evaluation. I think his GM duties were just too time consuming, and he wasn’t doing what he had always been great at…coaching.
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:36 pm
.500 over the past 3 seasons. One playoff win since 1999. A difference of opinion of whether Shanahan should be fired - maybe -but definitely not a disgraceful move. Sometimes, folks such as Shanahan, Fulmer, co-workers, etc. get a little too comfortable and think that he is the institution rather than a temporary occupant of a position. At that time, it is becomes necessary for Ownership to make the difficult decision of saying farewell to an otherwise good and faithful servant.
January 2nd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
The main question to me is who are the Broncos going to hire? Is there someone out there who is a better coach than Mike Shanahan? This is what the Broncos as an organization must answer to justify the firing. And yes he should have fired his defensive coordinator, the secondary was absolutely pathetic with the likes of Dre Bly and Champ Bailey back there. Anyway, this probably was the most influental factor that led to the dismissing of Shanahan…
January 3rd, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Everything that Shanahan did to make him a great coach is old school and out dated. He hasn’t done it lately. 1 playoff win since 1999 says it all. There are some good assistants who are available,and I’m not sold on the fact that all the coaches who were just fired are all that bad.
Dwalks last blog post..College Football Pick’em News Years Day Games
January 5th, 2009 at 12:43 am
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