mike shanahan

Broncos Fire Shanahan

With their two Super Bowl wins now a fading memory and this season's late collapse fresh in their minds, the Denver Broncos did what once had been virtually unthinkable and fired Mike Shanahan as their coach today.

Shanahan won consecutive Super Bowls with John Elway as his quarterback a decade ago and had the solid support of Broncos owner Pat Bowlen for many years.

But the Broncos squandered a three-game lead in the AFC West with three games to play and missed the playoffs by losing in lopsided fashion Sunday night in San Diego to finish the season with a record of 8-8.

The club issued a written statement indicating that Bowlen dismissed Shanahan as coach and executive vice president of football operations.

"After giving this careful consideration, I have concluded that a change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos," Bowlen said in a written statement. "This is certainly a difficult decision, but one that I feel must be made and which will ultimately be in the best interests of all concerned."

Shanahan was the team's head coach for the last 14 seasons. He previously had been an assistant coach with the club for seven seasons over two separate stints.

"I appreciate the 21 years that Mike Shanahan has given to the organization as an assistant and head coach, and the two Super Bowl wins in that time," Bowlen said. "His contributions hold a special place in Broncos history."

Bowlen and Shanahan are to participate in news conferences Wednesday, the Broncos announced.

The move stunned others around the league.

"I thought he was the closest thing that there was to a coach for life in the NFL," an executive with another team said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to be viewed as meddling in the Broncos' business. "I never thought Pat Bowlen would fire Mike Shanahan. It didn't matter if it was deserved or not. I just never thought it would happen."

Shanahan had the second-longest tenure with his team of any head coach in the league, behind only the Tennessee Titans' Jeff Fisher.

He had a record of 146-91 with the Broncos, including 8-5 in the postseason. His 154 victories, including eight with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1988 and '89, have him tied with Marv Levy for 15th place on the NFL's all-time list of coaching wins.

Shanahan won Super Bowls with the Broncos in the 1997 and '98 seasons. But then Elway retired, and Shanahan wasn't able to recapture those glory days. He had only one playoff victory since the second Super Bowl triumph.

In 10 seasons since the second Super Bowl win, the Broncos reached the playoffs four times and went 1-4 in postseason games.

In the last three seasons, the Broncos went a combined 24-24 and failed to reach the playoffs.

Shanahan, in some ways, did one of his better coaching jobs this season. The Broncos were hit hard by injuries--particularly at running back, a position at which seven players were placed on the injured reserve list. They had a record of 8-5 and needed only one more win to seal the division title. But they didn't get it and they were overwhelmed, 52-21, by the Chargers on Sunday night with the AFC West crown at stake.

Shanahan had three years and approximately $20 million remaining on his contact, according to the league-owned NFL Network.

The surprising firing means that at least eight NFL teams will have new head coaches next season. Three coaches were fired league-wide during the season and three more were dismissed Monday. In addition, Seattle Seahawks Coach Mike Holmgren announced last offseason that he would leave the team after this season.

Two of the jobs have been filled--the Seahawks previously named Jim Mora to succeed Holmgren and the San Francisco 49ers retained interim coach Mike Singletary on Sunday--so the Broncos join five other teams currently looking for coaches.

By Mark Maske | December 30, 2008; 5:25 PM ET | Category: Broncos , Coaching Carousel
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