Broncos, Shanahan are fit to be kings

MIAMI - What if Al Davis had been more committed to excellence inthe late '80s than to his own ego, allowing his coach, MikeShanahan,to actually coach?

The Los Angeles Raiders would have maintained their record asprofessional sports' winningest team, becoming the team of the '90swith one Super Bowl championship after another while creating alegion of loyal fans to fill a new, state-of-the-art home atHollywood Park.

The Denver Broncos? They would have searched for the right coach- Art Shell? Mike White? Joe Bugel? - for John Elway until he gaveup and retired before winning even one Lombardi Trophy. The fanswould have deserted them and refused to authorize the public fundingof a new stadium, the team would have moved to Houston and, today,itwould be Denver instead of Los Angeles appealing to NFL owners foranexpansion team.Feel free to snap your fingers at any time and interrupt myfantasy. Of course, it's impossible to prove that a successful unionbetween Davis and Shanahan would have so altered NFL history.It is believable, though, because, in the years since Davisjettisoned his bright, young head coach four games into the 1989season, Shanahan has become the NFL's best.Judging by the line of questioning at Shanahan's Monday pressconference, which began about 10 hours after his Broncos had wonSuper Bowl XXXIII, 34-19, over Atlanta, some in the media are readyto anoint him as one of the best ever at the relatively young age of46."I don't know," he said. "A number of people have asked me aboutthat. Just to be associated with some of the names I've heard putsme in awe. To be mentioned with others of that caliber is beyondbelief to me."Those names include Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, BillWalsh and Jimmy Johnson because they are coaches who have wonconsecutive Super Bowls. Shanahan added his name to that exclusivelist Sunday night.One person who isn't surprised is Gil Brandt, the former DallasCowboy player-personnel guru who was recognized for years as theNFL's best at spotting potential in young coaches as well asplayers.Shanahan was the offensive coordinator at the University ofMinnesota in 1979 when Brandt touted him to Dallas General ManagerTex Schramm.After meeting Shanahan a short time later, Schramm turned toBrandt and said, "Him? He's just a young kid."He still was nine years later when Davis made Shanahan, at 35, theNFL's youngest head coach.In retrospect, Shanahan believes that he was too young, maybe, tobe the head coach of a veteran NFL team and certainly to deal withDavis.He might never be old enough for the latter. But he furtherdeveloped his understanding of coaching, particularly of the WestCoast offense, as the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinatorfrom1992-94, which included a victory in Super Bowl XXIX. In his sparetime, he took lessons in the salary cap and other managementformulasfrom 49er President Carmen Policy that had been passed down fromWalsh.By the time Shanahan returned to Denver in 1995 to replace DanReeves, his mentor during two assistant coaching stints with theBroncos, he knew how to build and maintain a team as well as coachone."There's no one in the NFL today who is on Shanahan's level,unless it's Mike Holmgren," Brandt said here Monday.Shanahan and Holmgren met in last year's Super Bowl. Decidedunderdogs, the Broncos won, 31-24, in a game in which Shanahan wasperceived by many experts to have out-coached Holmgren. Inparticular, the Bronco coach is given credit for devising anoffensive scheme to neutralize the blitzing of the Packers' LeRoyButler.On Sunday night at Pro Player Stadium, Shanahan again gave theBroncos the coaching edge, this time over Reeves, with a formationthat called for both running backs to line up wide to counter theFalcons' emphasis on stopping the run. That also put the game in thehands of quarterback John Elway, who responded with an MVPperformance.Because of his inventiveness, Shanahan is known among the Denvermedia as "the Mastermind."He dislikes the nickname because of the implication that he issingle-minded, a notion that his wife disputes with stories abouthisadventures on his Harley-Davidson.He also insists that he spends no more than 30 hours each weekdeveloping the game plan, delegating much of the responsibility forpreparing the team to his assistant coaches."Part of Tom Landry's success is that he had strong assistants,"Brandt said. "Guys like Dan Reeves, Mike Ditka and Gene Stallingsweren't yes men. Shanahan doesn't have yes men around him, either."Shanahan isn't particularly popular with other NFL coaches becauseof the perception that he undermined Reeves as Denver's offensivecoordinator in 1991 by turning Elway against him. Reeves, who ispopular, reinforced that perception with his comments before theSuper Bowl.But few coaches have assistants more loyal than Shanahan's. Hedidn't lose one after last season and probably won't lose one afterthis season, although he said Monday that he is aware a couple wereinformally contacted before the Super Bowl, a possible violation ofNFL rules."I'm looking for some extra draft choices," he said, referring tothe NFL's penalty for tampering.Pausing to wait for laughs that didn't come, Shanahan said,"That's a joke. Lighten up."When a coach has to announce he's telling a joke, he's the one whoshould lighten up.Perhaps it would help him relax if he knew Elway was returning foranother season.On the morning after the victory, Shanahan said it was still his"gut feeling" that his quarterback will retire, but the coach washeartened by Elway's interest in becoming the first quarterback towin three consecutive Super Bowls.That, in turn, would make Shanahan the first coach to win the gamein three consecutive seasons, although Lombardi won the NFLchampionship and the first two Super Bowls.With or without Elway, Shanahan has already let the Broncos knowthat the goal for next season will be the same as it was for thisone, to win it all.Moments after Super Bowl XXXIII, Shanahan gathered his playersaround him in the dressing room and said, "Our offseason (training)program starts tomorrow."Most laughed, but not all. He was joking, wasn't he?