I can't say I'm surprised. I've liked Shanahan, so I personally haven't exactly been hoping for the Broncos to replace him. But I've kinda been expecting this for a few years now.
There's a lot of talk about loyalties - questioning what two Superbowl wins should be worth, can you really fire a guy that won two Superbowls, etc. I'd ask the same question of a manager at any business anywhere in the country - does phenomenal success ten years ago, based in part upon the makeup of that manager's team, excuse mediocre performance today? Or would a business expect continued performance?
The Broncos, admittedly, have a pretty high standard. Shanahan wouldn't be having this problem at, say, Detroit. But a .500 record over the past three seasons is just not going to cut it in Denver, especially with the talent there. Managers are responsible for the performance of the teams they manage. It's true in business and it's true in sports. If the coach can't get the team to perform, it is time for a change.
So it's the end of the Mike Shanahan era in Denver. The bad part of this is, I'm not sure who Denver will get that is any better.
This is, absolutely, positively, good news for Utah State though. Why? Uh, really? You actually need to ask? Obviously, Mike Shanahan is going to be the new head coach of Utah State University's football program. And I'm very excited about that.
