It's amazing how easy Herm has it in KC....if he was 20-20 over his last 40 no way anyone is calling for his head. Whitlock would be lapping it up.
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_10899875
The Broncos' final eight games are a referendum on Mike Shanahan.
If the Broncos fail to win the division or six more games, the landslide vote on the executive vice president of football operations/de facto general manager/head coach will be a resounding "No!"
James II, Edward IV, Henry VI and Charles X were understood to be Kings for Life, too, but they ended up abdicating or being deposed. Many other rulers also named in the manner of Super Bowls, who never intended to leave the throne, were summarily dismissed, some rather rudely.
Nothing in life is permanent, even for Kings for Life.
Tom Landry was fired after a 36-43 record in his final five seasons. Chuck Noll retired after three seasons of 9-7, 9-7 and 7-9. Don Shula went 9-7, 10-6, 9-7 and pulled out before being pushed.
Shanahan is 20-20 over his past 40 games. The Broncos have won only 13 of their past 31 games (and four victories were on a blown referee's whistle, two blown field goals, a blown extra point and a fumble at the beginning of overtime).
With the loss to Miami this past Sunday, the Broncos are 8-11 in November and December from 2006-08.
Since advancing to the AFC championship in 2005, the defense and its players and the coordinators and their schemes have been blamed for the Broncos' mediocrity and failure to return to the playoffs.
But the Broncos' offense has scored fewer than 21 points in 24 of 40 games. Twenty- four!
Shanahan repeatedly has been called an offensive genius.
Is he a has-been offensive genius?
Has the league caught up to him, or have the Broncos' free-agent signings, their trades, their drafts, their released players, their injuries, their lack of leadership on and off the field, their preparation and their game plans just cost him?
Shanahan is the greatest coach the Broncos have ever had, and he should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but will he be the man for the job in Denver if the Broncos keep losing in the second half of the season — with trips to Cleveland (Thursday night), Atlanta, New York (Jets), Carolina and San Diego and Buffalo at home? The Falcons, the Jets and the Bills are no longer pop tarts. Neither was Miami. Rematches with Kansas City and Oakland here seem to be the only sure things.
Shanahan's contract runs through 2011. He is building a new house and has invested in a new restaurant that will carry his name, and he said before the season he wants to retire in Denver.
Pat Bowlen always has asserted he wants Shanahan to be his coach as long as he is the franchise owner, and he likely will never sell.
But Broncountry cannot stand another year of bad-to-the-bone Broncos.
The club's theme is "Denver Broncos — Winning Tradition." But that belief is beginning to wear as thin as the laughable Raiders slogan "Team of the Decades." It's not enough any more just to pound the pitiful Raiders.
The Broncos are 1-4 in playoff games in nine seasons. They have won nine or fewer games five times after the end of the Elway era, and 2008 now has all the earmarks of another eyesore.
First place is a farce.
Travis Henry, Dre Bly, Niko Koutouvides, Jarvis Moss, just to list a few, are notable recent busts.
Henry was the most despicable player in Denver's history, and a rundown runner. The Broncos haven't come up with a world-class running back since Clinton Portis was traded in 2004 — and managed the second worst rushing yardage (14) in franchise history on Sunday.
Bly is an expensive, common cornerback.
Koutouvides was supposed to be the club's next starting middle linebacker. He can't even get a mention on special teams.
Moss is a big bust, and Tim Crowder and Marcus Thomas, the other two defensive linemen chosen in the 2007 draft, have been ordinary (when not injured).
Veteran wide receivers Keary Colbert, Samie Parker and Darrell Jackson were signed as free agents in the offseason. Only Jackson remains, and he has six catches. The Broncos brought in the MM&MM safeties, Marquand Manuel and Marlon McCree. They play like candy M&M's.
Shanahan's had five defensive coordinators since he took over in 1995. The Broncos again are among the worst defensive teams in football, and for the past five games, they have been among the worst offensive teams in the NFL.
Shanahan has initiated, ordered, approved or signed off on every decision. The players, the assistants, the front-office staff, even the owner can be blamed, but, ultimately, the responsibility for the decline and fall of the Broncos' empire rests with three titled men — the executive director of football operations, the de facto general manager and the head coach. And they are one — Shanahan.
Four more defeats this season is unacceptable and intolerable.
If so, Shanahan has to know that he must go. A King for Life can't be .500.