Mike Shanahan
A fixture in Denver for the past 14 years—that’s a long time in one place for any NFL head coach—he has a 146-98 record in the regular season and an 8-5 mark in the postseason. Under Shanahan, the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls after the 1997 and ‘98 seasons.
Shanahan’s tenure in Denver can be separated into two chapters: with John Elway and after John Elway.
With Elway as his quarterback, Shanahan’s record was 47-17 (.734) in the regular season. The Broncos won two division titles, went 7-1 in the playoffs and won those two championships.
Since Elway retired after the 1998-99 season, the Broncos have gone 91-69 (.568) in the regular season, have won only one division title in 10 years and are 1-4 in the postseason.
They have been a mediocre team in the past three years, compiling records of 9-7, 7-9 and 8-8. This season was particularly hard for Denver fans to swallow. After occupying first place in the AFC West for each of the first 16 weeks of the season, the Broncos lost to the Chargers in their final game—their third loss in a row—and failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
Yes, there were injuries. Seven running backs wound up on injured reserve and several key defensive players missed time. But the defense has been struggling for years—it finished 29th overall this season, and only two other teams allowed more points—and Shanahan can’t seem to find a coordinator who can fix it.
Winning two Super Bowls put Shanahan in a special company of coaches, but it shouldn’t guarantee him lifetime security in Denver.
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