Mr. Miyagi
11-19-2009, 08:34 AM
A retrospective article by TMQ:
Jan 6, 2009
Shanahan's Big Mistake -- Winning Too Often Raised Expectations:
If you can explain why Mike Shanahan was fired while Dick "Cheerio, Chaps" Jauron kept his job, raise your hand. Shanahan has a career record of 154-103 and eight postseason wins, including two Super Bowl rings; with Mike Holmgren's resignation taking effect the day before, Shanahan was fired while being the winningest active coach in the NFL. Jauron has a career record of 57-77, has never recorded a postseason victory, and is 1-7 lifetime in terms of producing winning seasons. The Broncos might have collapsed in December 2008, and Shanahan might possess an insufferable ego, but the defining aspect of his tenure at Denver was playoff season after playoff season. Buffalo has not reached the postseason in a decade, and performed much worse down the stretch than Denver did, losing eight of its last 10 games, yet Jauron got a raise! Ego is not Jauron's problem -- he is mild-mannered to the point of being invisible. At Buffalo he has produced three years of milquetoast teams that consistently rolled over in pressure games. Jauron's only notable skill is making excuses, so perhaps he is already thinking up reasons why the 2009 season will be a disappointment.
As for The Ultimate Leader, in November 2006 the Broncos were 7-4 with the inside track to a wild-card slot. Then Shanahan benched Jake Plummer for Jay Cutler, and the Broncos have gone 17-20 since. Should Shanahan simply have stayed with Plummer? Whoever takes the helm at Denver will be the beneficiary of the time Shanahan invested in letting Cutler learn by struggling. Shanahan surely thought his situation was secure enough that he could invest a season or two in educating a young franchise quarterback without being fired. As pointed out by many readers, including Victor Gregor of Glen Rock, N.J., The New York Times' account of the firing included this tidbit: "Last spring, Shanahan and his wife, Peggy … began building a 35,000-square-foot home" near Denver. That's roughly 15 times the size of the typical American detached home. Will it have a helicopter landing pad? Gun turrets for defense against sportswriters?
Should Shanahan land in Dallas, there will be a lot of ridicule of Jerry Jones' repeated statements that the Boys would not change coaches. Actually, what Jones repeatedly said was, "The coaching staff is in place." He didn't say what place! Maybe he meant Colorado?
And on Shanahan's over-the-top ego:
Andy Reid isn't merely the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, he is "head coach/executive vice president of football operations." Jim Mora isn't merely the coach of the Atlanta Falcons, his full title is "executive vice president-head coach." Mike Holmgren isn't merely the coach of the Seahawks, he is the "executive vice president of football operations/head coach." Imagine trying to explain to Vince Lombardi why modern coaches need this verbiage to make themselves feel important.
Such inflated coaching titles pale, however, in comparison to the 3,795-word gag-me-with-a-spoon official team bio of Denver's "executive vice president of football operations and head coach," Mike Shanahan. According to the official bio (http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=357&contentID=415), Shanahan is a "key leader" of "elite status" who is "ultra-impressive" and possesses an "exceptional talent" leading to a "stunning record" that puts him in an "exclusive club" plus has "dynamic drive" and has achieved "an almost unparalleled level of success" in "an atmosphere of great pressure and expectations" during "magnificent seasons" that made the Broncos the "perfect symbol" and is "arguably the finest head coach" with "one of the most brilliant minds in football" and has "one of the most dynamic minds" and is a "brilliant coach" who is the "most fertile football mind" who has "almost completely revitalized" his team while achieving "dramatic achievement" and is "dynamic" and "renowned" and gives "superb guidance" and stands "among the game's sideline greats" and is "universally regarded at the highest level" as "an ultimate leader." Move over Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, Joan of Arc, Nelson Mandela -- you are flyspecks on the windshield of history compared to Mike Shanahan. Don't you get the feeling Shanahan personally supervised his bio? Hey, coach, people of genuine achievement don't have to boast. From now on, to this column Shanahan will be The Ultimate Leader.
Jan 6, 2009
Shanahan's Big Mistake -- Winning Too Often Raised Expectations:
If you can explain why Mike Shanahan was fired while Dick "Cheerio, Chaps" Jauron kept his job, raise your hand. Shanahan has a career record of 154-103 and eight postseason wins, including two Super Bowl rings; with Mike Holmgren's resignation taking effect the day before, Shanahan was fired while being the winningest active coach in the NFL. Jauron has a career record of 57-77, has never recorded a postseason victory, and is 1-7 lifetime in terms of producing winning seasons. The Broncos might have collapsed in December 2008, and Shanahan might possess an insufferable ego, but the defining aspect of his tenure at Denver was playoff season after playoff season. Buffalo has not reached the postseason in a decade, and performed much worse down the stretch than Denver did, losing eight of its last 10 games, yet Jauron got a raise! Ego is not Jauron's problem -- he is mild-mannered to the point of being invisible. At Buffalo he has produced three years of milquetoast teams that consistently rolled over in pressure games. Jauron's only notable skill is making excuses, so perhaps he is already thinking up reasons why the 2009 season will be a disappointment.
As for The Ultimate Leader, in November 2006 the Broncos were 7-4 with the inside track to a wild-card slot. Then Shanahan benched Jake Plummer for Jay Cutler, and the Broncos have gone 17-20 since. Should Shanahan simply have stayed with Plummer? Whoever takes the helm at Denver will be the beneficiary of the time Shanahan invested in letting Cutler learn by struggling. Shanahan surely thought his situation was secure enough that he could invest a season or two in educating a young franchise quarterback without being fired. As pointed out by many readers, including Victor Gregor of Glen Rock, N.J., The New York Times' account of the firing included this tidbit: "Last spring, Shanahan and his wife, Peggy … began building a 35,000-square-foot home" near Denver. That's roughly 15 times the size of the typical American detached home. Will it have a helicopter landing pad? Gun turrets for defense against sportswriters?
Should Shanahan land in Dallas, there will be a lot of ridicule of Jerry Jones' repeated statements that the Boys would not change coaches. Actually, what Jones repeatedly said was, "The coaching staff is in place." He didn't say what place! Maybe he meant Colorado?
And on Shanahan's over-the-top ego:
Andy Reid isn't merely the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, he is "head coach/executive vice president of football operations." Jim Mora isn't merely the coach of the Atlanta Falcons, his full title is "executive vice president-head coach." Mike Holmgren isn't merely the coach of the Seahawks, he is the "executive vice president of football operations/head coach." Imagine trying to explain to Vince Lombardi why modern coaches need this verbiage to make themselves feel important.
Such inflated coaching titles pale, however, in comparison to the 3,795-word gag-me-with-a-spoon official team bio of Denver's "executive vice president of football operations and head coach," Mike Shanahan. According to the official bio (http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=357&contentID=415), Shanahan is a "key leader" of "elite status" who is "ultra-impressive" and possesses an "exceptional talent" leading to a "stunning record" that puts him in an "exclusive club" plus has "dynamic drive" and has achieved "an almost unparalleled level of success" in "an atmosphere of great pressure and expectations" during "magnificent seasons" that made the Broncos the "perfect symbol" and is "arguably the finest head coach" with "one of the most brilliant minds in football" and has "one of the most dynamic minds" and is a "brilliant coach" who is the "most fertile football mind" who has "almost completely revitalized" his team while achieving "dramatic achievement" and is "dynamic" and "renowned" and gives "superb guidance" and stands "among the game's sideline greats" and is "universally regarded at the highest level" as "an ultimate leader." Move over Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, Joan of Arc, Nelson Mandela -- you are flyspecks on the windshield of history compared to Mike Shanahan. Don't you get the feeling Shanahan personally supervised his bio? Hey, coach, people of genuine achievement don't have to boast. From now on, to this column Shanahan will be The Ultimate Leader.