As the Broncos continue their downward spiral it will only a matter of time before Mike Shanahan will be shown the door. Pat Bowlen will not continue to spend multi-millions of dollars on a bad product that has the talent but not the right leader.
So when Mike Shanahan is fired, who will be next Denver Bronco's head coach? I have narrowed it down to five possible (and maybe one or two not so possible) coaches that could replace Shanahan.
Bill Cowher. Who does not love the chin and the excitement Mc. Chin brings to the sidelines? He comes from another well respected and historic franchise in the Pittsburgh Steelers so he would fit right in with the Broncos. He loves to pound the rock and the Broncos have the best running games in the National Football League. He loves hard pounding defense and what does the Broncos desperately need? Let Champ and Dre' do their thing out in space but bring back Al Wilson and bring in some hard hitters that will punch the opponents in the mouth every play. Cowher also brings with him a winning record of 149-90 during the regular season and 12-9 in the playoffs. Cowher would be a great fit for Denver and would be my #1 choice to be the next Broncos head coach.
Mike Martz. The Greatest Show on turf moves into the Mile High City. With receivers like Marshall and Stokley and the up and coming speedsters the Broncos are slowly bringing up and a mobile quarterback in Cutler (seeing that Martz will throw 98% of the time and have less protection for Cutler), I think Martz would be a good fit in Denver. You can wear down the defenses by throwing the rock all over the field then pound them up the middle with the running game. Martz has been a part of three Super Bowls (one as an assistant and two as head coach) and won one Championship, so he knows how to get the job done. Just look at how he is making Jon Kitna look like the next Kurt Warner in Detroit. His lack of running the ball might be the only downside to Martz but watching balls fly all over Invesco Field would be a lot of fun to watch!
Bill Parcells. The Big Tuna got ran out of Dallas because of Terrell Owens but the simple fact is look at where the Cowboys are at this season. It is the exact team Dallas had last year and had it not been for Romo thinking about his date with Carrie Underwood later that night during the playoffs he might not have fumbled that ball and cost the Cowboys the game. The Big Tuna is old and looks comfortable in his seat at ESPN but you put the Tuna in charge of the Broncos and he will make a difference. He has two championship rings and don't forget he was the Head Coach of the Air Force in 1978!
Pete Carroll. Sure he has a 33-31 record in the NFL but how about that 75-14 record in college and just watching him pump out talent after talent every year, not to mention two National Championships. Carroll got fired from the NFL and vowed never to return but I think if he sees the actual talent that the Broncos have and the potential for a Super Bowl sooner then most of Bronco Nation thinks, he could change his mind. Carroll is a players coach, unlike Shannahan who only thinks of himself and thinks the team only wins because if him, and Carroll will be able to teach and coach the younger players the Broncos have.
Bobby Turner. The longest shot of them all but I never shy away from giving Bobby some love. You tell him his running backs are only good because of the 'system' and he will give you the angry stare. But who do you think built that system? Shanahan? He would love for you to think that because that is the only thing going right for the Broncos. But it is Turner who has coached and brought players from nowhere to being 1,000 yard rushers. You hear that is was because of the offensive line guru coach Gibbs. Well he was there years before Turner got there and the rushing game was not what it is. You hear it is the offensive linemen. 90% of them are injured or gone from the team and yet the rushers keep running. When is Bobby Turner going to get the respect he deserves? He coached Ohio State running backs Robert Smith and Eddie George into 1,000+ rushers in college and the pros. He coached Mike Alstott into being one of the best fullbacks in the league when he was at Purdue. Turner has the experience and the players respect to deserve not only to be a Offensive Coordinator but a Head Coach and what better place then the Denver Broncos where he has already built the foundation that will carry the Broncos for years to come.
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3 comments:
As a suffering Broncos fan, I would love to Shanahan go. But honestly, I don't see that many true options out there. Yes, Cowher sounds good, but he runs a 3-4, which would take time, as would the rebuilding of practically the entire team. Does Cowher want to rebuild? I think not.
Martz won't be a HC in the league again. Carroll will only leave USC for a job in Cali. Turner would be nice, but he's still too raw. My choice would be the OC in New England. He's young, aggressive, and could turn the Broncos into a powerhouse. A darkhorse candidate if Shanahan does go: Marty Shotteneheimer. I know it sounds crazy, but MartyBall would bring instant toughness and credibility to the Broncos. My only worry (other than the playoff record) would be his handling of Jay-C. Can he mold him into the star he can be?
So many questions with these Broncos. We'll be waiting this offseason for some asnwers.
I will give you Shotteneheimer, I think that would be a nice hire. He is also a players coach and he knows how to get the best out of his players instead of being a tirant like Shanny.
As for can he mold Jay-C you must remember he turned Drew Brees into a solid quarterback and he worked with Rivers last year and he was productive. He left and look at the disaster that Rivers has become.
Don't sleep on Turner though, he will be a OC in 2008 and don't be surprised if it is not with the Broncos.
I don't think Shanahan should go. I'll give you props that at least you tried to put together a list of coaching candidates. Most Shanahan haters just scream 'FIRE HIM' without offering alternatives. My comments ....
Bill Cowher. Best on your list. However, have you noticed how well Ben R. is doing this year? Ben made veiled comments about Cowher and Wisenhunt in the press about how they wouldn't let him open up the offense. Besides Ben, Cowher's record of QB development is spotty at best. Remember Slash? We didn't grab Cutler to have him throw 15 times a game.
Mike Martz. You think Shanahan is an egomaniac and you put Martz on the list? Remember in the Super Bowl where he refused to use one of the best RBs of all time and lost to the Patriots? Besides Detroit doesn't look that great. Pass.
Bill Parcells. Overrated coach and another large ego. Never won a SB without Bill Belicheck as his def. coordinator. Very good judge of talent. Each team he has left was in better shape than when he got there in terms of quality players. He came out of retirement to coach Dallas because he just finished a very messy divorce and was looking to make quick cash. I doubt he needs money now that he's on ESPN. Would make a great GM but needs a coach and owner that would put up with his ego.
Pete Carroll. As another poster said, not leaving for a job outside of Cali. He would be crazy to leave a cushy college position for the high pressure NFL. I really don't think he'll EVER come back to NFL. If he did come back, I don't think he'd be better than Shanahan right now.
Bobby Turner. LUV Bobby. He is the reason we've had such a consistent running game. However he needs time as off. coordinator before jumping to head coach.
No one asked but I'll give my opinion any way, it is after all a blog :-)
Anyone that looked at the offense in the pre-season and thought we were going to be better than 8-8 was out of their mind. Of course Shanahan, is not going to get up and say 'We're re-building'. Too many vets and high expectations from the fan base prevent that kind of honest assessment. We had a rookie QB, a new RB, the O-line was put together with duct-tape, Jay's favorite receiver (Tony the TE) was out with an injury and the WRs were just awful in pre-season. Throw in an injured Javon Walker (who carried the O last year) and Henry's drug problems and well you have quite a mess.
I think what has shocked everyone was just how bad the D was this year. That came out of no where. But I think the biggest problem isn't the scheme, it's the linebacker core. Denver has always had at least 2 (sometimes 3 or 4) good/ great linebackers. Not this year. Ian Gold has lost a step. Webster is a complete idiot and DJ is just starting to understand and step up at MLB. Bates' system needs fast LBs and we just don't have it this year. I bet we take an LB in the first round in the draft and sign a bunch of FAs at LB to address the problem.
I actually think Shanahan is better now than he was say 4 years ago. After the SB wins we kept bringing in FAs and plugging in pieces thinking that we were just 'one player away from ....' Although we always had a good run game the passing attack was boring and predictable. Much of that had to do with Shanahan believing he could make any average QB a pro-bowler. Wrong. Wrong. You need talent at QB.
Jake was an upgrade from Griese, but Jake had a million dollar arm with a 5 cent head. Only looked good when he was rolling out of the pocket and once teams took away the bootleg plays that was it.
We FINALLY have a QB with potential. Yes , he's going to screw up at times (sigh the Raider game) but the offense for the first time since Elway left is exciting to watch. Marshall is starting to look like a beast and Stokely has really been a pleasant surprise. Throw in Tony at TE and MAN we have a great passing game. And that in today's NFL is what wins games. You gotta put up points and lots of them to win now and running the ball won't get it done.
The team is young. Which is good. We spent too many years as an aging team. But young teams make bone-head mistakes and don't hold on to leads. If you take away the Raider game, we were in EVERY single one of the games since the bye week. Yes, it sucks to lose at the last minute in the 4th quarter. But I'm not ready to show Shanahan the door just when we're on the verge of returning to the top.
Next year we *should* compete with SD for the division title. And I expect Denver to be a top AFC team in two years. If however we miss the playoffs next year and it doesn't look like Shanahan can mold this young group into a winner, then I'll say its time to show him the door.
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