Former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan gave a rare interview to Gil Whiteley on Wednesday, and he looked back at his career and gave his thoughts on the current state of the team.
After a negative experience in his first head coaching gig with the Raiders, Shanahan revealed that it was an “easy decision” to take the Denver job. Although he had offers from other teams, having John Elway under center and Pat Bowlen giving him freedom over the roster made the choice to return to Denver easy.
Gil asked Shanahan about the difficulty to win back-to-back championships — he is one of only six NFL coaches to ever do so. As the Broncos gear up to attempt to add Gary Kubiak‘s name to that list this season, his old boss provided some insight into the process.
“In an organization, everybody’s got to be going in the same way,” Shanahan said. “If you have that type of chemistry, then you have a chance to win it.”
Another issue currently affecting the Broncos is knowing when (and if) to start a rookie quarterback in Paxton Lynch. Shanahan experienced that dilemma firsthand with Robert Griffin III in Washington.
“You have to prove yourself. You have to prove yourself to your teammates. And if John feels like he’s got that type of player, he’ll make that decision. His opportunity is going to be won on the field,” Shanahan said. “Even if he starts there, he’s going to have to finish there”
Does he want to coach again? Could he see himself taking on an offensive coordinator position if his son Kyle became an NFL head coach head coach? Shanahan says no, but that he would be open to a consulting role with a team:
“I might be involved with a team sometime.”
Catch Gil Whiteley every weekday from 11a-1p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 or FM 104.7, or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.
