Denver Broncos general manager John Elway fired head coach Vance Joseph after his second consecutive losing season at the helm. We found out Sunday that he nearly fired him after the first.
Former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan revealed that he was in serious conversations with Elway about returning to take command of the team in 2018, but it didn’t work out.
“I was close, I was close,” Shanahan said. “One thing that has to happen is you all have to be on the same page. One thing you’ve got to make sure of when you are a head football coach that the owner, the GM, the quarterback are all on the same page. And if it doesn’t happen the chances of you winning the Super Bowl aren’t very good. …I had a great conversation with John (Elway) as everybody knows, it didn’t work out, sometimes it works out for the right reasons.”
Mike Shanahan nearly returned to coach the Broncos in 2018. https://t.co/KpzdrPtjq2
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) August 18, 2019
Joseph didn’t last even with the reprieve. Denver fired him after the 2018 season with an 11-21 record. He’s currently the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals.
While Shanahan and Elway talked again this time around, the GM set his sights on Vic Fangio as his new head coach. Fangio had never served as a head coach at any level of football.
Shanahan was the head coach of three different teams in the NFL, the Los Angeles Raiders for two seasons, the Broncos for seven and the Washington Redskins for four. As a head coach, he’s won two Super Bowls, XXXII and XXXIII and compiled a 178-144 head coaching record with an 8-6 mark in the postseason.
TRANSACTIONS
- With the arrival of Josh Gordon, Dontrelle Inman’s days were numbered. The New England Patriots cut the wide receiver Sunday. Gordon is on the NFI list.
- The Philadelphia Eagles cut linebacker Paul Worrilow. The LB tore his ACL last season.
- Kicker Elliott Fry was waived by the Chicago Bears, with the starting job apparently going to Eddy Pineiro. At last for now.
- Defensive lineman Khari Clark and linebacker Gary Johnson were added by the Washington Redskins. To open the roster spots, they cut defensive end Myles Humphrey and defensive back DeJuan Neal.
