Denver Broncos
01/03/2009
The Jets' interest in Mike Shanahan is getting warmer, a person familiar with the team's thinking told the Daily News on Thursday. With Bill Cowher out of the picture, and with no proven head coaches on their list of known candidates, the Jets are taking a hard look at the former Broncos coach, who was fired on Tuesday in a move that sent shock waves throughout the NFL. As of late Thursday, it was unclear if the Jets had reached out to Shanahan, but they are expected to do so.
01/03/2009
One of the first calls that Jet management made, only hours after firing Eric Mangini on Monday, was to the crosstown rival Giants. It did not take long for the Jets to identify Steve Spagnuolo, the Giants' defensive coordinator, as a candidate for their head coaching job. And when Bill Cowher bowed out on Tuesday, Spagnuolo shot to the top of the list. The 49-year-old is expected to interview with the Jets tomorrow - but Gang Green has plenty of competition for his services. He interviewed with the Lions and Browns yesterday, and is scheduled to meet with the Broncos tomorrow when he finishes with the Jets.
01/01/2009
Broncos owner Pat Bowlen will have a lengthy list of diverse coaching candidates to consider as he tries to decide who should replace Mike Shanahan as the Broncos' head coach. Another top GM candidate is Scott Pioli, New England's vice president of personnel. In addition to Schwartz and Spagnuolo, other hot assistant coaches include Josh McDaniels, the Patriots' offensive coordinator, Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett or Atlanta quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave, a former Broncos backup quarterback who starred as at Grand Junction High School and the University of Oregon. If Bowlen chooses to go with an experienced head coach instead, Bill Cowher could be the top target, though he would be far more expensive to a franchise that still could be paying at least part of Shanahan's salary in coming years. Cowher has not coached since retiring from Pittsburgh nearly two years ago. He has been linked to the open New York Jets job, too, in recent days. Several top college coaches could be in the discussion, as well, including Southern California's Pete Carroll, who previously coached in the NFL in New England. One local college coach, Air Force's Troy Calhoun, shook his head no Tuesday when asked if he expected to be considered. Calhoun was a defensive and special-teams assistant under Shanahan and an assistant coach for the Texans under Gary Kubiak.
01/01/2009
When Pat Bowlen fired Dan Reeves as Broncos head coach following the 1992 season, it set the stage for the return of Mike Shanahan to the organization, although it took two years to happen. When Bowlen fired Shanahan on Tuesday, it set the stage for the return of John Elway to the organization, and it could happen a lot sooner than Shanahan's did. A couple of caveats: First, this is based on no inside information, only my observation of the dynamics among these three men over the past several years. Second, just how much responsibility Bowlen is ready to give Elway I'm not sure. They were partners, along with E. Stanley Kroenke, in ownership of the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League, which recently suspended operations. Elway had all the executive authority, so Bowlen has some experience dealing with him in that role. Elway has given no indication he wants to coach; quite the opposite. He has been preparing to be an NFL executive for some years now.
01/01/2009
The Denver Broncos are a team in need of a comeback. No surprise, then, that John Elway's name keeps popping up. The Hall of Fame quarterback has been mentioned as a possible part of the management team that replaces Mike Shanahan, who was terminated as coach and executive vice president of football operations.
12/31/2008
The Browns will interview fired New York Jets coach Eric Mangini and current New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo this week for their coaching vacancy, NFL sources said. The Browns also are trying to get permission to talk to some of their other candidates, including Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. It is not yet known if they will be interested in fired Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.
12/31/2008
Not to be outdone by ESPN's Cris Carter who mentioned Terrell Owens and a "bullet" in the same sentence, NFLN's Terrell Davis had this to say on Monday on "Total Access" when the discussion turned to fixing the Cowboys: "The first guy that's got to go is T.O..." T.D. said. "T.O. I'm sorry you are a cancer. You got to go." I think T.D. called T.O. the "c" word at least three times. What is it about T.O. that brings out such tough words from a couple of guys who were pretty good players themselves? Recall that T.D., who did his time with the Broncos, is a 2-time Super Bowl champ and a Super Bowl MVP. Meanwhile, NFL Network analyst Michael Lombardi was all over Roy (WR) Williams. He mentioned Williams had questionable work ethics at Texas and with the Lions. He said he would keep T.O. and dump Williams.
12/24/2008
Looking for Ed Hochuli to work another Denver-San Diego game, this one with the AFC West title on the line? Forget it. Hochuli, whose blunder helped decide the first game between the Broncos and Chargers - in favor of Denver - will be a couple of thousand miles east in Green Bay on Sunday for the Lions-Packers game, where Detroit will be trying to avoid the first 0-16 season in NFL history.
12/22/2008
The battered and bumbling Denver Broncos couldn't render the San Diego Chargers irrelevant when they had the chance, and now they'll have to beat them to get to the playoffs.
12/15/2008
When Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson found out last week he needed a heart transplant, coach John Fox asked his boss what the players could do to help. The answer: They're already doing it. Fox relayed the message, and his players continued their good work on Sunday, in front of their ailing owner, in a 30-10 win over the Denver Broncos.
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