the    sides

I love the Donkeys but sometimes I really wonder what most of our fans have been drinking.

The facts are these - the Denver Broncos are done. Well done. Stick a fork in them. However, I do need to point out that NOBODY wants to win the AFC West right now. They all are terrible and as bad as the Broncos have been…here’s the reality of the situation. ALL THEY HAVE TO DO TO GET IN THE PLAYOFFS IS WIN THE AFC WEST. Beat the Chargers, beat the Chiefs, beat the Raiders and they’ve just punched their ticket to the playoffs. How sad is that? They are one win behind the Chargers in the AFC West. Ridiculous.

Want to complain about Shanny as a GM? I’ll go there with you. He’s had some horrible drafts in the last 5 years. Even worse free agent signings and even worse than that assistant coaching hires. But gameday…he’s still one of the best. Anyone who can minimize the Plummer effect to one game of the Super Bowl…that’s coaching. The bottom line - the defense is confused, banged up, and talent-short. The offense is just banged up. Cutler, Rod Smith, Javon Walker, Tom Nalen, and Travis Henry are all hurt. There isn’t a team in the league who could lose 2 of their starting WR’s, the starting RB, and the starting center and win. Throw in losing John Lynch, Al Wilson, and moving DJ Williams to middle which essentially meant you lost your outside linebacker and you have the same situation on the defense.

Besides that, Shanny isn’t going anywhere. Bowlen is way to smart for that, he’s not reactionary. There will be no bar scene firing like with Jones and Johnson. Pat Bowlen knows that no one has more games in the last 8 years than Shanny, that record plus 2 Super Bowls has earned him some grace this year.

“Well he wouldn’t have won those without Elway.” Elway didn’t win many Super Bowls without Shanahan either. (That number would be ZERO.)

More importantly - who would you replace him with?

Schottenheimer? Aw H…E…Double Hockey Sticks No. There is no universe where he is a better coach than Shanny. I promise you now…if Schottenheimer EVER becomes the coach of the Broncos, I will become a Browns fan.

Some young offensive/defensive coordinator? Jason Garret of Dallas is really the only guy that MIGHT be able to pull it off, but there’s no way Jones lets him out of Dallas. Plus as a rookie head coach, new system, new coaches, new vibe - it would be a complete culture change and that would mean another year or two of average football. (Which honestly right now would be an improvement, but I digress.)

Bill Cowher? Possibly. Lots of positive here. He’d fit the culture here. He’d resonate with the team, runs a similar style game, demands smashmouth defense, and every player that has ever played for him would run through a wall for him…(except maybe Kordell Stewart). Same sort of set up that he had in Pittsburgh - an owner that is steady and is committed to putting a winning team on the field.

BUT…he’s not coaching until his daughters get out of high school…which is in 2009. That’s two seasons away.

So…Shanny is staying. Lots of things can happen in 2 years. Shanny could retire…he’s been a head coach for 15 years, 13 of them here in Denver. He could move into the front office somewhere. I guess another season like this one might make Bowlen think about replacing him. But I promise you, that is the LAST thing on his mind this year.