Shanahan out in Denver

Are you as shocked as I am? Mike Shanahan is no longer the coach of the Denver Broncos.

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen announced on Tuesday that Shanahan has been relieved of his duties as head coach and director of football operations. A news conference is scheduled for Wednesday.

Shanahan now joins Eric Mangini of the Jets, Romeo Crennel of the Browns and Rod Marinelli of the Lions as unemployed coaches, with the latter three canned on Monday.

In a released statement, Bowlen said, "After giving this careful consideration, I have concluded that a change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos. 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."

I admit, I did not see this coming. Shanahan is easily the most successful coach in Broncos history, winning Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998. But this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately sport and let's face it, Shanahan has not done the job lately. In fact, the Broncos have not made the playoffs in the last three years.

On Sunday, the Broncos completed what could be the biggest collapse in NFL history, leading the Charger by three games with three to play. San Diego not only beat Denver on Sunday, but the Chargers absolutely embarrassed the Broncos 52-21.

I'm certainly not a Broncos fan nor an expert, but the firing surprised me as it seemed as if Bowlen and Shanahan had been tight throughout the years and the past success would be enough for him to earn a mulligan or two. Evidently, Shanahan was out of mulligans.

Let's face it, the Broncos have never been the same without John Elway and Terrell Davis. Did those great Broncos teams just overshadow Shanahan's coaching ability? Let the debate begin.

I really have no clue on what will be next for the Broncos, but will Bowlen be making a call to Gary Kubiak soon? Bill Cowher? Mangini?

Stay tuned.

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