I've noticed Bill Cowher and Marty Schottenheimer being heavily mentioned both in the comments here and in discussions across the internet as desired replacements for Shanahan. They apparently bring experience to the table that is necessary to win in the NFL.
Schottenheimer's experience didn't help him accomplish anything of note in San Diego other than underachievement. Bill Cowher doesn't seem particularly interested in coaching in the NFL at the moment, why drag him back?
All that hiring a coach like Cowher or Schottenheimer would do is create the same kinds of problems that kept Shanahan around far too long, an unwillingness to question their decisions, a lack of accountability, and a burgeoning cult of personality.
Atlanta, Baltimore, and Miami brought in "inexperienced" head coaches to coach relatively unseasoned teams and all three had remarkable success this year.
Experience is overrated and shouldn't be anywhere near the top of desirable qualities in a new head coach.
12/31/2008
12/30/2008
12/28/2008
By now it should be blatantly obvious
Shanahan needs to leave.
In reality this week's game shouldn't have been meaningful in any way. The Broncos were incredibly lucky to have any chance to make the playoffs this year after squeaking out a win against New Orleans thanks to a missed field goal and being given a win they didn't earn in their first meeting against the Chargers.
The Broncos have now gone two years without a winning record and three years without a playoff appearance.
Apologists will come out with a myriad of excuses, sure the Broncos had a rash of injuries this season. The fact is that they played poorly even when at full strength early in the year. Anybody looking back objectively on those games at the beginning of the season will be able to see that.
In tonight's game Tatum Bell was able to give the Broncos a credible running threat despite any injuries to other backs. The Broncos still lost. The fact that a player that Shanahan had previously tossed aside for no real reason gave the Broncos an extra arrow in their quiver tonight is ironic to say the least.
The Broncos defense is absolutely terrible, but it is terrible due to Shanahan's decisions. He has ran out multiple defensive coordinators to hide his own shortcomings. Larry Coyer managed a respectable and at times dominant Denver defense before he was fired as a scapegoat to cover up Shanahan's ineptitude. Shanahan is also completely incapable of drafting or otherwise acquiring defensive talent. Draft picks were wasted on offensive players when they weren't needed. Blame was constantly shifted away from its source.
It's time for Shanahan to go, he will continue to hold this franchise back.
In reality this week's game shouldn't have been meaningful in any way. The Broncos were incredibly lucky to have any chance to make the playoffs this year after squeaking out a win against New Orleans thanks to a missed field goal and being given a win they didn't earn in their first meeting against the Chargers.
The Broncos have now gone two years without a winning record and three years without a playoff appearance.
Apologists will come out with a myriad of excuses, sure the Broncos had a rash of injuries this season. The fact is that they played poorly even when at full strength early in the year. Anybody looking back objectively on those games at the beginning of the season will be able to see that.
In tonight's game Tatum Bell was able to give the Broncos a credible running threat despite any injuries to other backs. The Broncos still lost. The fact that a player that Shanahan had previously tossed aside for no real reason gave the Broncos an extra arrow in their quiver tonight is ironic to say the least.
The Broncos defense is absolutely terrible, but it is terrible due to Shanahan's decisions. He has ran out multiple defensive coordinators to hide his own shortcomings. Larry Coyer managed a respectable and at times dominant Denver defense before he was fired as a scapegoat to cover up Shanahan's ineptitude. Shanahan is also completely incapable of drafting or otherwise acquiring defensive talent. Draft picks were wasted on offensive players when they weren't needed. Blame was constantly shifted away from its source.
It's time for Shanahan to go, he will continue to hold this franchise back.
9/28/2008
Mistaking luck for achievement
This is something Broncos fans always do.
The Broncos are 3-1, but without a blown call and two missed field goals from Martin Gramatica, they are 1-3.
The defense is completely abysmal.
If you'd like to believe the Broncos to be a juggernaut in the AFC, please continue to do so. They were just dominated by one of the worst teams in football, and are lucky to have a winning record.
The Broncos are 3-1, but without a blown call and two missed field goals from Martin Gramatica, they are 1-3.
The defense is completely abysmal.
If you'd like to believe the Broncos to be a juggernaut in the AFC, please continue to do so. They were just dominated by one of the worst teams in football, and are lucky to have a winning record.
5/23/2008
Oh hi
So the draft was a joke.
And the Broncos medical staff is apparently so inept they were unable to tell that their starting QB has diabetes?
Good coaching Mike, I know if I was an NFL head coach I would consider your QB losing 30 pounds an issue I was able to put aside.
I'm kind of apathetic about this now. I've been right too long to say anything but I told you so.
And the Broncos medical staff is apparently so inept they were unable to tell that their starting QB has diabetes?
Good coaching Mike, I know if I was an NFL head coach I would consider your QB losing 30 pounds an issue I was able to put aside.
I'm kind of apathetic about this now. I've been right too long to say anything but I told you so.
2/14/2008
Delusion
From the comments to the last post:
Smart signings and draft picks?
When has Shanahan ever shown him capable of making smart defensive signings and draft picks?
How can anybody claim we have improving depth on the offensive line? Our offensive line is only getting older.
things aren't getting brighter? With one of the best young QB's in the league, a defense that will improve with draft picks and smart signings, improving depth along the o-line...
Smart signings and draft picks?
When has Shanahan ever shown him capable of making smart defensive signings and draft picks?
How can anybody claim we have improving depth on the offensive line? Our offensive line is only getting older.
1/24/2008
Some analysis of the Broncos' offense
While browsing Football Outsiders, I came across their 2007 Drive Statistics. Here's how the Broncos stack up:
Yards Per Drive: 31.69 (9th best)
Points Per Drive: 1.73 (17th best)
Touchdowns Per Drive: .180 (18th best)
Punts Per Drive: .337 (5th best)
Now let's figure out what these statistics tell us.
Yards Per Drive compared to Points Per Drive and Touchdowns Per Drive
Of the teams in the top 10 in YPD the Broncos have by far the largest difference in their YPD to PPD ranking. Only two other teams in the top 10 in YPD are not in the top 10 in PPD. However, two teams are ranked 11th and 12th, a far cry from Denver's 17th.
The rest of the teams in the top 10 in YPD also have TDPD rankings similar to their YPD rankings. Again, the Broncos exhibit a discrepancy that the rest of the top 10 do not.
Relevance of Punts Per Drive:
If the Broncos were not scoring points, you would expect the offense to be punting the ball quite regularly. Yet that is clearly not the case, the Broncos punted the ball less than the vast majority of the NFL.
The thought might cross your mind now that the Broncos must have been turning the ball over frequently as an explanation for this. But, the Broncos turned the ball over at a decidedly average rate (15th) compared to the rest of the NFL.
What's this mean?
All of this lends to the conclusion that the Broncos were kicking too many field goals and not converting their chances into touchdowns.
That is a recurring theme for Shanahan's Post-Elway Broncos, in 2004 the team was 28th in Red Zone efficiency. The 2006 team was 12th, and the 2005 team despite having the second best record in the NFL was seventh in Red Zone Efficiency. Despite the fact that the Broncos were in the AFC Championship game in 2005, it should be no surprise that they finished behind both Super Bowl representatives in Red Zone Efficiency.
I would be willing to bet that once 2007's Red Zone Efficiency ratings are released, the Broncos will be amongst the NFL's worst.
The consistent problem is the play calling once the Broncos get into striking distance of the end-zone. It is consistently terrible, and Shanahan, as the person calling the plays, is to blame.
1/09/2008
Rearranging the deck chairs
Jim Bates has joined Greg Robinson, Ray Rhodes, and Larry Coyer in the pantheon of Shanahan's failed defensive coordinator choices.
To be fair to Coyer, he wasn't really a failure. He just happened to be the necessary sacrifice to the altar of the cult of personality around Shanahan.
The faces surrounding Mike Shanahan continue to change, the results continue to stay the same.
Does anybody truly think a new defensive coordinator is going to make any difference?
To be fair to Coyer, he wasn't really a failure. He just happened to be the necessary sacrifice to the altar of the cult of personality around Shanahan.
The faces surrounding Mike Shanahan continue to change, the results continue to stay the same.
Does anybody truly think a new defensive coordinator is going to make any difference?
12/06/2007
Time For Change (mail)
This is another email, I thought it deserved a separate post of its own (although I don't agree with the Marty part). I'm still asking for emails. I'll print whatever I get. Fireshanahan@gmail.com -Jacob
Zach writes:
Shanahan has done nothing but pass the buck after Elway's retirement. There was nothing wrong with Jake Plummer. He was alright in Arizona, but he really came to form in Denver. But Shanahan casts doubt upon all quarterbacks who are not named "John Elway." He refuses to let his quarterbacks wind up and fling it down the field. Instead, they run a highly predictable dink-and-dump style offense. I don't know how they're 5-7. Well, I do know why they're 5-7 instead of 2-10, Jason Elam. He has bailed them out time after time this season.
Their defense has never been great. It wasn't great when they won back-to-back Super Bowls, but it was good enough to win. They managed to keep, for the most part, the same personnel when they were winning back-to-back Super Bowls. Now Shanahan will release players at the drop of a hat. What kind of mentality is that? "Well, this defense just didn't work out. Let's go out and get a new one for next season. If that doesn't work I'll just do the same thing again, until it works." Does he keep receipts for these guys? It's like his returning faulty products before the warranty is up.
Then there is the habitual hiring/firing of coaching staff. Let's not blame the head coach for the total ineptitude of HIS team. No, let's blame all the people that work for him.
Here's my ultimate dream: The Broncos, after going 7-9, fire Shanahan and hire Marty Schottenheimer. Marty will then lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory, thus breaking his jinx with the team that started it. I've always admired Marty and I think he's the answer. That man has taken so much undeserved critical abuse while Shanahan receives nothing but praises. Marty didn't deserve to be fired by the (vastly overrated) San Diego Chargers. They should have fired their insane General Manager. The Chargers are dead when they get into the playoffs.
That's a different issue though.
The Broncos are not going to be successful as long as Shanahan is there. He's just going to keep doing the same things hoping to get the same results, which is one of the definitions of insanity.
I'm in for the long haul, but it's getting tougher to hang in there. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope that he will get fired in the foreseeable future.
Zach writes:
Shanahan has done nothing but pass the buck after Elway's retirement. There was nothing wrong with Jake Plummer. He was alright in Arizona, but he really came to form in Denver. But Shanahan casts doubt upon all quarterbacks who are not named "John Elway." He refuses to let his quarterbacks wind up and fling it down the field. Instead, they run a highly predictable dink-and-dump style offense. I don't know how they're 5-7. Well, I do know why they're 5-7 instead of 2-10, Jason Elam. He has bailed them out time after time this season.
Their defense has never been great. It wasn't great when they won back-to-back Super Bowls, but it was good enough to win. They managed to keep, for the most part, the same personnel when they were winning back-to-back Super Bowls. Now Shanahan will release players at the drop of a hat. What kind of mentality is that? "Well, this defense just didn't work out. Let's go out and get a new one for next season. If that doesn't work I'll just do the same thing again, until it works." Does he keep receipts for these guys? It's like his returning faulty products before the warranty is up.
Then there is the habitual hiring/firing of coaching staff. Let's not blame the head coach for the total ineptitude of HIS team. No, let's blame all the people that work for him.
Here's my ultimate dream: The Broncos, after going 7-9, fire Shanahan and hire Marty Schottenheimer. Marty will then lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory, thus breaking his jinx with the team that started it. I've always admired Marty and I think he's the answer. That man has taken so much undeserved critical abuse while Shanahan receives nothing but praises. Marty didn't deserve to be fired by the (vastly overrated) San Diego Chargers. They should have fired their insane General Manager. The Chargers are dead when they get into the playoffs.
That's a different issue though.
The Broncos are not going to be successful as long as Shanahan is there. He's just going to keep doing the same things hoping to get the same results, which is one of the definitions of insanity.
I'm in for the long haul, but it's getting tougher to hang in there. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope that he will get fired in the foreseeable future.
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