Oz_Chief
01-03-2009, 02:29 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/01/03/peter.king.shanahan/?cnn=yes
Mike Shanahan sounds very much like a man who plans to coach again, but probably not in 2009.
Unless he finds "a perfect situation'' in 2009, Shanahan said in remarks to me reported this afternoon on NBC that he'll likely sit out a year, then return to the NFL in 2010.
"What I'm going to do is take a couple of weeks to sit back and relax a little, then consider what it is I'm going to do,'' said the 56-year-old Shanahan, the two-time Super Bowl winner fired by Denver owner Pat Bowlen on Tuesday. "Unless there's a perfect situation out there, I'd rather sit out the year and return next year.''
A check of the vacancies shows no good situations, never mind a perfect one. Detroit, the Jets, Cleveland and St. Louis all have significant flaws, from losing that just won't end to major cap problems to ownership looking hard to sell.
Kansas City might have an opening if neophyte owner Clark Hunt, in the market for a football architect, chooses a GM who will fire Herman Edwards, but the Chiefs are full of holes.
There could be one intriguing match for Shanahan in 2009. New England vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli interviewed for the Browns' general manager job Wednesday and will talk with Chiefs owner Clark Hunt in the coming days. Who knows if Pioli will get offered one of the jobs, and whether he'll take it. But Shanahan always ran his own ship, from bow to stern, in Denver, and Pioli could be the strong personnel presence Shanahan needs so he can concentrate on coaching and nothing else.
"I wouldn't go anywhere,'' Shanahan said, "unless it's the right scenario.''
As Shanahan said at his Wednesday news conference, he was surprised when Bowlen fired him. "But," he said, "sometimes I think it's a good thing to make a change like this. It re-energizes you. I don't feel sorry for me, at all. But I do feel for all the coaches who have kids in school, who have families to think about, who might have to sell houses in this housing market. That's really unfortunate. But it's part of the business."
Mike Shanahan sounds very much like a man who plans to coach again, but probably not in 2009.
Unless he finds "a perfect situation'' in 2009, Shanahan said in remarks to me reported this afternoon on NBC that he'll likely sit out a year, then return to the NFL in 2010.
"What I'm going to do is take a couple of weeks to sit back and relax a little, then consider what it is I'm going to do,'' said the 56-year-old Shanahan, the two-time Super Bowl winner fired by Denver owner Pat Bowlen on Tuesday. "Unless there's a perfect situation out there, I'd rather sit out the year and return next year.''
A check of the vacancies shows no good situations, never mind a perfect one. Detroit, the Jets, Cleveland and St. Louis all have significant flaws, from losing that just won't end to major cap problems to ownership looking hard to sell.
Kansas City might have an opening if neophyte owner Clark Hunt, in the market for a football architect, chooses a GM who will fire Herman Edwards, but the Chiefs are full of holes.
There could be one intriguing match for Shanahan in 2009. New England vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli interviewed for the Browns' general manager job Wednesday and will talk with Chiefs owner Clark Hunt in the coming days. Who knows if Pioli will get offered one of the jobs, and whether he'll take it. But Shanahan always ran his own ship, from bow to stern, in Denver, and Pioli could be the strong personnel presence Shanahan needs so he can concentrate on coaching and nothing else.
"I wouldn't go anywhere,'' Shanahan said, "unless it's the right scenario.''
As Shanahan said at his Wednesday news conference, he was surprised when Bowlen fired him. "But," he said, "sometimes I think it's a good thing to make a change like this. It re-energizes you. I don't feel sorry for me, at all. But I do feel for all the coaches who have kids in school, who have families to think about, who might have to sell houses in this housing market. That's really unfortunate. But it's part of the business."