Mike Shanahan

Today the Denver Broncos fired Coach Mike Shanahan after 14 years and 2 Super Bowl victories. I am a Denver Broncos fan. I was shocked. This season was bad enough. The one signature win the Broncos had was because of not only a bad call, a flat out wrong call. Every time the Broncos started gaining momentum there was a huge let down (at Kanasas City, Oakland at home, Buffalo at home). That doesn't even take into the equation the only once precedented 3 game division lead collapse which culminated in a loss at San Diego on Sunday night in prime time. It wasn't even a loss, it was a blowout, a smack in the mouth. It was awful. People in Denver were just plain pissed off the next day. And then Shanahan happens. The coach that brought not only the organization 2 Super Bowls but the city 2 Super Bowls, he brought the entire Bronco nation 2 Super Bowls.

And even has bad as this season was there was a glimmer of hope. It was small and hard to see amongst all the shattered dreams of this season. The Broncos had up and coming superstars at wide receiver (Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal), a solid - if not really good - if not great young left tackle (Ryan Clady), and arguably one of the best young quarterbacks in the league in Jay Cutler (who by the way broke John Elway's record for passing yards in a season). If the Broncos get a defense, then who knows who could stop them.

And then today Shanahan . . . oh boy. Jay Cutler is unhappy with it. Yikes. Your up and coming superstar quarterback is unhappy with your decision. Not a good sign. But fear not Denver Broncos fans. Hope still remains.

Look, Shanahan is a good coach, he is probably even a great coach. He will be a good coach again at probably whatever job he wants, but his time in Denver was just up. The collapse just an excuse to speed up the inevitable. Shanahan was never going to stay there forever, and it's probably better for Cutler that he leave now while Cutler is still young and impressionable than in a few years when it would have rocked him even more. Of course Cutler will say something, who wouldn't? A boss you like gets canned and someone asks you about it? You're not going to be a little unhappy? You would be fine, you would get over it and go back to work. Cutler will too. He will be fine, he is a stud, he will be a star under any system, under any coach.

Think about it, Cutler is your quarterback, that alone can at least get you 8 wins (see 2008), if the defense is sured up and the offense doesn't go totally bonkers, you are at least at 8 wins for the next 5-7-9 years. That is a worst case scenario. If the offense stays at the same pace, which it should (if not even a more frenetic pace because of the rash of injuries to somewhere around everyone in the running game) and the defense is at least respectable that is 8-9-10 wins a season, at worst. That would be good enough to get playoffs most years. It would be good enough to win a few playoff games. It would be good enough to more-or-less contend every year. And if things go correctly, a Super Bowl victory or two, which would make everyone forget about Mike Shanahan anyway.