Mike Shanahan: On the Hot Seat

Mike Shanahan looks on during the Broncos loss to the Panthers. (Getty Images)

UPDATE: Mike Shanahan has been fired.

I fully expect Mike Shanahan to be the Head Coach of the Denver Broncos in 2009.

Will Pat Bowlen fire him? It’s very unlikely. Bowlen has given him “Coach for Life” status.

Will Shanahan resign after missing the playoffs in three straight seasons? Probably not, but at this point, it seems the only way he would go.

But I’m officially putting Shanahan on the hot seat. And I’m making my case crystal clear: if the Broncos don’t make the playoffs in 2009, I’ll join the throng of anti-Shanahan fans and ask for his job after the season.

He promised the Broncos would make the playoffs this season, and that didn’t happen. He has plenty of excuses with his team decimated by injuries, but at the end of the day, the Broncos blew three straight opportunities to win a game and win the AFC West.

I think Shanahan is a good coach, but at some point you have to wonder if he’s lost the ear of his locker room. Is his message getting through to these players? And that’s why, for me, a lifelong Shanahan-backer, I’m ready to give him one more chance then move on if all we get is more of the same. One more chance.

And until then, he’s still our coach, and has my support.

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