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LINCICOME: Shanahan stays squeaky clean

By Bernie Lincicome, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 13, 2008 at 7:50 p.m.

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The image that comes to mind is of Gen. George Custer, the last man standing, holding in one hand the reins of his horse - or Bronco in this case - and an empty pistol in the other hand.

Except, it is assumed, Custer didn't shoot his own men as Mike Shanahan has done, now nearly out of others to blame.

The dismissal of Ted Sundquist means little in the big picture, any more than Jim Bates or Larry Coyer before him, or others who have come and gone, Ray Rhodes and Alex Gibbs and Gary Kubiak and Mike Heimerdinger, just names, really.

To put it another way, only seven coaches remain from five seasons ago, these years not exactly the golden age of Broncos football.

It is not quite clear what Sundquist did for the Broncos or any of the others, come to that. That is what comes with a top-loaded organizational chart, the top being Shanahan and all the rest just temporary name tags.

Sundquist generally managed the Broncos in the same way that a flight attendant flies an airplane.

You know how when you are being told to fasten your seat belt by a kind young thing the pilot will break in and, in a more serious and remote voice, tell you the same thing? You do not need to be reminded who is in charge, but he who is in charge needs to remind you.

The weight of this, strangely, is that the glory that was the Broncos belongs only to Shanahan, now a decade later, while little of the struggles since are his fault.

The poor play, the bad drafts, the awful trades, the misjudgments, the alienations, the losses, all the fault of circumstance or at least the last guy out the door.

None of these things are Broncos-only failures. Every team has some of them. Some teams have all of them. And when they do, they usually turn to Bill Parcells.

No such thing will happen here. The Broncos are Shanahan and will be Shanahan until he leaves, and Shanahan will leave only when he wants to.

At some point, he is going to have to be held responsible for what the Broncos are, and these days they are NFL afterthoughts, no longer considered either a threat or an attraction.

The Broncos have settled into the mundane middle of the NFL, without apparent possibilities, without a star save cornerback Champ Bailey, a place where light does not really shine on anyone who was not Deion Sanders.

None of this matters, none of the internal chair changing, this coach up, this coach out. What matters are wins and losses. That's what matters to Broncos fans as it must to Shanahan himself.

Each lost season goes on Shanahan's record. To paraphrase an old sportswriter, when that one great scorer comes to mark against Shanahan's name, he will not only ask who won and who lost but what were you thinking with Travis Henry?

He will give you Ashley Lelie, but not Javon Walker.

Shanahan is like one of the so-called superdelegates, his importance and influence far beyond his meager title.

He fits in with only a few over the history of the NFL, not counting owners/coaches like George Halas or Paul Brown. His command is that of a Parcells, or Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll or Don Shula, a distinguished class and even among those only Noll made a clean exit.

The next, and likely last, stage of Shanahan's legacy depends on Jay Cutler. Shanahan was in love with Brian Griese and then he was in love with Jake Plummer and now he is love with Cutler, who has yet to fall out of love with Shanahan.

We will have to concede what even Shanahan would not admit last year in Cutler's first full season, that the Broncos are rebuilding, that all the pieces are not in place, that all the steps for a while will be baby steps.

This is, in fact, how it has been - including the AFC title game year - since that old Super Bowl gang was broken up, beginning with the retirement of John Elway and the deterioration of Terrell Davis.

Since then it has been patch and restart, fire and hire, rise and fall.

This coming season is not a defining year for Shanahan any more than the last one was or the next one will be.

But he is running out of people to cover his back.

Comments

  • March 13, 2008

    9 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Dynamicdave writes:

    I can only respond to this article or yours with this, "go the hell back to Oakland, Lincicome, you're an idiot". Sheesh.

  • March 13, 2008

    9:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Highcountry writes:

    If you ask me, the discussion boards on Denver's newspaper sites reflect the fact that readers are becoming every bit as moronic as many of the fans of the city's sports teams. This is a good column. Not one to be crudely dismissed as garbage. And the Broncos, and the other teams in town, are doing the best they can. There used to be a time in Colorado where the fans loved the teams and the players loved the fans back. Now we're left with Jake Plummer's middle finger, and I don't blame him. The Snake was tired of loudmouthed, bandwagon fans. So am I. Go Broncos! Go Avs! Go Nugs! Go Rox! And go Bernie Lincicome!

  • March 14, 2008

    12:26 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    rhsalas writes:

    i agree with bernie, he is absolutly correct in his evaluation
    of m. (the snake) shanahan. jake never deserved that title in
    denver. shanahan earned it long before jake arrived in denver.
    as for sheech, i can tell you really know bronco football. who,s
    the real idiot here?

    r. salas

  • March 14, 2008

    12:47 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    superchop7 writes:

    It's a new day, looking in the rearview mirror gets you nowhere.

  • March 14, 2008

    7:37 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jonny1 writes:

    What part of Shanahan saying at the end of the season that it was his fault don't you understand?

  • March 14, 2008

    9:36 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Sheriff writes:

    I sold the rest of the games left on my 2007 season tickets after the San Diego debacle at home. This roster is composed of Tin Men searching for a heart. It's disgusting to pay to see this team play. The buck stops at Mike Shanahan.

  • March 14, 2008

    9:57 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    ErBri writes:

    At the end of last season, Shanny stated he alone took full responsibility. I continue to be amazed at the haters who post on these forums. Try going outside and get some exercise!

    Do we really need to read Linicome any more??? Every "article" says the same thing over and over...my mind wanders...he needs to get some more paragraphs in his word processor from which to paste.

  • March 14, 2008

    10:21 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    T1anda writes:

    Well, we all could have been Miami fans last year, that team did extremely well or, St. Louis, or...... maybe Bowlan should have fired Shanny and hired Bobby Petrino. LOL

  • March 14, 2008

    10:29 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    myerda00 writes:

    Bernie, since you arrived from Oakland, you have been a 'glass half empty' writer. I have not read that Shanahan blames anyone except himself. He and Bowlen have brought in Mike Lombardi and Jeff Goodman because they are young aggressive minds and Sundquist should have seen the writing on the wall.
    I like ALL moves so far this year. Hope the draft goes as well. Look for the Broncos to trade down the 12th to gain a 3rd.

  • March 14, 2008

    10:41 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    OrangeCrush_77 writes:

    So, because Shanny says that he takes full responsibility he should then be absolved?

    Of course Shanny should take responsibility. He just fired the GM (where else could that happen), and promoted the next "yes men" that were in line for the job.

    If Shanny is going to take full responsibility, then what's wrong with anyone judging his body of work?

  • March 14, 2008

    11:08 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Patriot writes:

    Unfortunately for many of us Bronco fans, we realize that players need to be motivated, and Shanny couldn't motivate an ice cube to melt in 70 degree weather.

  • March 14, 2008

    11:08 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    champ24girl writes:

    Finally it's taken a few years but people are realizing that Jake the Snake was just another one of Shanahan's scapegoats. Cutler's got a year or two before he gets the same treatment but hopefully Shanahan will be gone before that happens. Cutler needs to get good enough to pull an Elway and say "I want a new coach".

  • March 14, 2008

    3:01 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    foreveraBroncofan writes:

    Such negativity by so called fans. I agree entirely with myerda00. Very good post. I also liked superchop7's.

  • March 14, 2008

    6:48 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    DenverBroncosFan writes:

    Hold on, just a couple of weeks ago all the sports writers were criticizing the Broncos for their lack of talent. It seems to me that Mike Shanahan agrees and is making changes to improve the talent scouting process. What is it that Lincicome thinks he should do? Should Shanahan just quit because he hasn't done a good enough job? If that is the case, perhaps Lincicome should evaluate his own writing and quit.

    Mike Shanahan evaluates every aspect of his team every year, as any person in charge of an organization should, and makes changes based on the things he sees. I think all of the changes he has made in the coaching staff this year reflect the weaknesses that we all see. The defense had problems, so changes were made. The offense seemed predictable, so changes were made. The talent levels have not been what they need to be, so changes are being made. What more can someone do?

  • March 15, 2008

    8:46 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    incognitoboy writes:

    i must have missed something in bernie's bio..... some of you guys saying ' go back to oakland' or 'since you arrived from oakland'.....

    i look at his bio and it says 'wrote for the chicago tribune for 17 yrs'.

    is there a different bio somewhere that only critically ignorant morons get to read? people who have nothing better to do than attack REAL writers when they do their jobs? (which is to criticize and attack sports figures while they do THEIR jobs ;-)

    but hey, it's all in good fun, right?

  • March 15, 2008

    5:47 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Visionary500 writes:

    The Emperor is naked, the Emperor is Naked....

    What in the hell is going on at Dove Valley? Does Mike have risque photos of Bowlen in a compromising position?

    Mr. Bowlen? Uhhh, excuse me. You own the team. Some players have expressed some issues. Coaches, yes good coaches have been in out of there in a second. Who made these choices? I doubt Ted had anything to do with hiring Bates, Rhodes, or Coyer.
    .
    Shanahan should be put on notice....Can you hear me now?

  • March 15, 2008

    10:06 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    aragornzxl writes:

    I dont think the 7-9 record last season was ALL shanahan's fault, but i dont see how firing the GM is gonna make things better, especially when Shanahan is more responsible for the 7-9 than ted.
    Shanahan's just ran out of scapegoats. He messed up on the Jake Plummer thing (basically letting a winning QB, who won 13 games in a season with the Broncos, to retirement with nothing in return)
    He let Grubiak leave, and a boat load of good players. In return, this season, hes got a couple of safeties (not the Broncos most dire needs, if i might add) and a WR who has the last name of a comedian. How appopriate.
    He needs to resign, and he will, once he runs out of scapegoats.

  • March 16, 2008

    5:51 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    shesgotthejack writes:

    Bernie is correct and the column is truthful. Shanahan is definately at fault. . .yes Bronco fans. . .it's his FAULT. He should of been fired 2 seasons ago. He's not God, he's not a "genius", he's just an average football coach and a below average evaluation of talent. Shanahan is looking for the quick fix, he needs to hire someone that actually knows how to draft talent and knows how to select great quality free agents. Travis Henry is not it, nor is the Browns defensive line. Cmon' Bronco fans. . .Shanahan is a has-been. . .just suck it up and ADMIT IT!!

  • March 16, 2008

    6:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Civility writes:

    I have followed the Broncos since they started in 1960. Because of the excellence that Shanahan first brought to Denver, our expectations are very high. That sure wasn't the case before he got here. Thank God that Bowlen doesn't pay any attention to these idiot sports writers. Maybe Mr Lincicome is tired of Shanahan's dominination of the Raiders.

    Of course my expectations were raised with reading Woody Page and so the garbage that this guy puts out is pathetic. I think that the Rocky Mountain News should get rid of him.