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Posted by Aaron Wilson on January 30, 2009, 9:30 a.m.
Former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan’s message had grown stale and his firing was deserved, retired former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer told the Denver Post.
It doesn’t sound like Plummer and Shanahan will be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon as Plummer acknowledged that his relationship with Shanahan had deteriorated.
“I thought it was past due,” Plummer said. ”I think he had done what he could do and was just tapped out as far as his coaching style wasn’t motivating guys anymore.”
According to Plummer, Shanahan had become “increasingly obsessed” with where the Broncos ranked statistically instead of focusing on winning games.
“It’s hard on a team,” Plummer said. “We were 7-2 at one point my last year and we came out of a meeting with our heads bowed and we were all just sulking around like we had just been berated for not putting up 40 points, for not leading the league in offense, for not creating enough turnovers.”
“It was a weird style to be coached that way. It really took it out of you as a player. I’ve been on 2-7 teams that had better attitudes coming out of team meetings than oftentimes when we came out of team meetings after Shanahan felt a need to motivate us even more.”
Plummer endorsed the hire of 32-year-old former New England Patriots
offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels..
“I think it’s a real smart move,” Plummer said. “There’s a lot of young coaches that are coming out of situations where they’re coordinators for great coaches and going out on their own and really establishing themselves. He is young, but he’s got to bring a lot of life and energy to coaching, which I’m sure will be good for that organization.
“At that level, there’s mutual respect. There should be mutual respect between coach and player and player and coach. Some coaches can accomplish that while staying in charge, but others, if they can’t do it naturally, they do it with an iron fist or engulfing you in a way that didn’t feel right. I think that’s what happened to Shanahan. He just tried so hard and pushed so hard that nothing was good enough. Nothing.”
Former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan’s message had grown stale and his firing was deserved, retired former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer told the Denver Post.
It doesn’t sound like Plummer and Shanahan will be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon as Plummer acknowledged that his relationship with Shanahan had deteriorated.
“I thought it was past due,” Plummer said. ”I think he had done what he could do and was just tapped out as far as his coaching style wasn’t motivating guys anymore.”
According to Plummer, Shanahan had become “increasingly obsessed” with where the Broncos ranked statistically instead of focusing on winning games.
“It’s hard on a team,” Plummer said. “We were 7-2 at one point my last year and we came out of a meeting with our heads bowed and we were all just sulking around like we had just been berated for not putting up 40 points, for not leading the league in offense, for not creating enough turnovers.”
“It was a weird style to be coached that way. It really took it out of you as a player. I’ve been on 2-7 teams that had better attitudes coming out of team meetings than oftentimes when we came out of team meetings after Shanahan felt a need to motivate us even more.”
Plummer endorsed the hire of 32-year-old former New England Patriots
offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels..“I think it’s a real smart move,” Plummer said. “There’s a lot of young coaches that are coming out of situations where they’re coordinators for great coaches and going out on their own and really establishing themselves. He is young, but he’s got to bring a lot of life and energy to coaching, which I’m sure will be good for that organization.
“At that level, there’s mutual respect. There should be mutual respect between coach and player and player and coach. Some coaches can accomplish that while staying in charge, but others, if they can’t do it naturally, they do it with an iron fist or engulfing you in a way that didn’t feel right. I think that’s what happened to Shanahan. He just tried so hard and pushed so hard that nothing was good enough. Nothing.”
