Shanahan is a great coach

No, he's not responsible for Darrent Williams death.  That blame lies solely on the cowards who murdered him.

Why shouldn't I believe that story?  Haven't you ever gotten hurt goofing around with your brothers or friends or whatever?  I'm not saying it has to be true, but there is really no reason not to believe it.  And I would be glad to let him babysit my kids, except that I don't have any.

Also, Cutler did not say that he wants him off the team, all he said was that Marshall needed to grow up.  There was no ultimatum issued, Cutler just said that Marshall needs to stop saying he needs to grow up and start acting grown up.  I think (and hope) that Marshall is finally starting to understand that.

Where do these guys get this nonsense? When shanahan arrived as coach one of his initial conditions was he wanted to be involved in the additions and subtractions the team was making. If you ever watched americas game on the Broncos 1997 super bowl championship it shows commentary of John Elway and Mike Shanahan  trying to get Neil Smith to come the broncos after the kansas city Chiefs cut him. Shanahan already had lots of control in his first year hired. Sure the former gm played a part but shanahan was hired by bowlen and expected to turn the team around. prior to shanny the broncos were in a disaray with wade philips. Shanahan isn't solely responsible for that team but he is about 50% responsible for giving elway a team and fantastic offensive line.

Tom Nalen was a practice squad player and so was Rod Smith. mike shanahan took a chance with these guys and it worked. just like he took a chance with terrel davis late in the draft and even getting elvis dumerville late in the 4th round was a gamble since many thought he was undersized. now he is one of the up and coming nfl players. he makes good moves and bad moves as do many teams but Travis Henry carries too much baggage and Selvin Young outperformed him last year. the rookie Ryan Torain has gotten good reviews and may be the number 2. Michael Pittman is insurance but could be a goal line threat.

wow, I guess the name Al Davis throws everyone into a tizzy.

No, not a Raiders fan or an Al Davis fan.  Just a fan of the truth.  The reason Shanahan was fired was 7-9 & 1-3.  He may have gotten a few more games in '89 if he hadn't previously coached for Denver or San Francisco.  Davis is biased in that way.

In any event, Shanahan's problem is fairly common:  you can't be a great coach and GM at the same time.  Take Joe Gibbs as an example.  Great coach with Bobby Beathard as GM.  Not so great, at either, when doing both.

I don't profess to be a psychologist, but I think there is more incentive to pour your heart out on the field for a guy you trust.  The "game" stays a "game" and isn't a business between the white lines.  When the same words "atta boy" and "you're cut/traded" come out of the same mouth, it's hard to be loyal to that voice.  When a coach is a coach, he can always blame the GM for cuts and trades, and the coach can stay on the player's side, and the players will play harder for someone they trust.

Shanahan hasn't focused on coaching in a long time.  He's the face of the Broncos when it comes to these personnel decisions.  Players will always side with players, and who wants to play for a di?k that will cut you because you're late for a meeting.  I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but I believe alot of players think that way.  It was easy for Shanahan to act that way on the heels of 2 super bowl wins because players would say "I don't care if he's a di?k, if he get me my ring."  He's too far away from that now.  If he wants to be a great coach, be a great coach and get the most out of players by motivating them.  Don't be a good coach and a bad/untrustworthy GM.

Bottom line; he's not a great coach.

But you've still given no solid reasons why you think that, and you've still failed to address the question: if he's not a great coach why has he had so much success?

You want to argue on his merits as a gm, you'd have a great case.  Arguing that he is not a great coach, you're facing an uphill battle, and you've yet to show compelling evidence that he isn't a great coach, unless you consider "Al Davis fired him!" compelling evidence, which I don't.

broncos6482...

I agree completely... The fact that Shanahan has won so many games (.600 winning percentage) over the past 13 years WHILE assuming GM duties proves that he IS a great coach... Regardless