Tag: Mike Shanahan

NFL’s conference title games will feature several former Broncos

Broncos fans will recognize several former Denver players and coaches during the AFC and NFC championship games this weekend.

The Broncos did not reach the playoffs this year but the team will be well-represented by former coaches and players in the NFL’s conference championship games this weekend.

49ers center Ben Garland and Emmanuel Sanders both played in Denver before landing in San Francisco. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is the son of former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. Defensive backs/passing game coordinator Joe Woods coached in Denver from 2015-2018.

Wes Welker, who was a key member of the Broncos’ record-breaking offense in 2013, now serves as San Francisco’s wide receivers coach.

In Green Bay, the Packers have three offensive linemen who spent time in Denver: Billy Turner, Jared Veldheer and John Leglue.

The Titans have four former Broncos on their roster: punter Brett Kern, wide receiver Kalif Raymond, linebacker Wesley Woodyard and cornerback Tramaine Brock. Kern earned first-team All-Pro honors and the third Pro Bowl selection of his career this season.

The Titans will take on the Chiefs in the AFC title game on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 1:05 p.m. MT on CBS. The 49ers will face the Packers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday at 4:40 p.m. MT on Fox.

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Will Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson help Dan Reeves and Mike Shanahan reach Hall of Fame?

If Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dan Reeves and Mike Shanahan do, too.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will have a special 20-member class in 2020 in celebration of the NFL’s 100 years. The expanded class will include 15 “Centennial Slate” inductees, two of which are coaches.

Former Broncos coach Dan Reeves was among the finalists for the “Centennial Slate” but the voters choose former Steelers coach Bill Cowher and former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson instead.

Many fans and pundits on Twitter were perplexed about Johnson and Cowher reaching the Hall of Fame over Reeves and another former Broncos coach, Mike Shanahan.

It’s debatable if Reeves and Shanahan were more deserving but one could make a strong case that they are at least as deserving.

Shanahan was a brilliant offensive mind that won two Super Bowls as a head coach and three overall. His style of offense is still seen around the NFL thanks to his impressive coaching tree that includes Gary Kubiak, Kyle Shanahan (his son), Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur.

If voters believe that Johnson and Cowher belong in the Hall of Fame, surely they must believe Reeves and Shanahan do as well, right? Unfortunately, that might not be the case, in part because of the voting process for the 2020 class.

Johnson and Cowher were selected by a special “blue-ribbon panel,” not the usual selection committee. That panel’s view on what’s deserving of Hall of Fame recognition might not line up with the selection committee’s view, so even if Shanahan and Reeves are just as deserving as Johnson and Cowher, Denver’s two former coaches might still face an uphill battle to Canton. Classes will go back to being selected by the usual committee in 2021.

While the Broncos won’t have a coach enter the Hall of Fame this year, the team does have three finalists: modern-era safeties Steve Atwater and John Lynch and linebacker Randy Gradishar, a Centennial Slate candidate.

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Both coaches in NFC Championship game were fired by Redskins

Neither Kyle Shanahan nor Matt LaFleur was apparently good enough for the Redskins in 2013, but now they’re a game away from the Super Bowl.

Hey did you hear the news? The two coaches that are going to be coaching in the NFC Championship Game both used to coach for the Washington Redskins.

One is Kyle Shanahan, the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He used to be the offensive coordinator for the Redskins from 2010-2013. The other coach is Matt Lafleur, with the Green Bay Packers. He used to be the quarterback’s coach for the Redskins during the same time that Shanahan was the OC in Washington. In that time, the Redskins went 24-40 under head coach Mike Shanahan, and they were eventually fired after going 3-13 in their final year with the team.

Now, the two young offensive minds have found greener grass outside of Washington, and they’ve managed to make their way into the playoffs, through the wild card and divisional rounds, and into the conference championship.

Meanwhile, the Redskins missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season this year.

But who’s comparing.

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