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Living On The Edge

Sporting News, The, Feb 1, 1999 by Paul Attner

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That's why, in 1995, he had to have control of Denver's football operations, despite the questions that stamped the move: How people thought it was really dumb for him to walk away from the 49ers, where he had been designated as George Seifert's successor, and go to the then-aging, struggling Broncos, not just as coach but as the football czar; how his 8-12 record in one-plus seasons as Raiders coach made his hiring by Broncos owner Pat Bowlen seem curious at best and misguided at worst. But for Shanahan, all this put him where he wanted to be: on The Edge with his career. So that if he succeeded, the rush he would feel, having done it with his structure and his plans and his philosophies, would far surpass anything he had previously felt from football. Which it did, when a year ago the Broncos beat the Packers for the NFL title in one of the great upsets in league history.

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And now The Edge is back, in the form of more history, knowing that only Lombardi, Noll, Shula and Johnson have won two straight Super Bowls, and in the form of Dan Reeves, his old mentor and no longer dose friend, whose presence in Sunday's game against the Falcons--and the resulting ill feelings and harsh memories that have been rekindled from their former association--not only adds to the challenge but brings the anticipation of a new rush that would make a second championship just as fulfilling as the first.

Yet Shanahan will stand before the public in the days preceding this extravaganza and reveal nothing of the adrenaline flowing through his body. He will be uptight and tight-lipped, his mouth rarely widening into a smile. Put Jimmy Johnson or Bill Parcells, two other NFL strongmen with similar coaching powers, in this spotlight and they exploit it for everything it's worth. Their booming personalities, full of charm, wit, commanding presence and humor, hog attention and create mystique. Shanahan cares little about playing to an audience, about emoting philosophies, about creating an aura of either raw bullying (Parcells) or coldhearted decisiveness (Johnson). His is not a world of Image. His universe is about efficiency and intelligence and proper use of time, and he doesn't desire to embellish his persona with prodigious storytelling or deft give-and-take.

Johnson, Parcells, Lombardi and Shula--they all grabbed a room, whether full of players, fans or media, and manipulated it with their own particular tune, prodding and entertaining and teaching and dictating. That is not Shanahan, even if he also can be funny and engaging and commanding and fearsome when he chooses.

The result is that Shanahan, of all the elite coaches in the league, is the farthest removed from the larger-than-life category that once embraced Lombardi and Shula and now includes Johnson and Parcells, winners of four Super Bowls between them. Even his players usually only see the cerebral Shanahan who choreographs an incredibly well-planned, no-nonsense organization, where details are so important that he can even sit in his office and monitor position meetings live over dosed-circuit television or, later, on tape.

Living On The Edge

Sporting News, The, Feb 1, 1999 by Paul Attner

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