Mike Shanahan Fired by Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos on Tuesday fired longtime coach Mike Shanahan following an 8-8 season in which the Broncos blew a three-game lead and missed the playoffs. Shanahan is the fourth coach to be fired this season. He joins the Jets' Eric Mangini, Cleveland's Romeo Crennel and Detroit's Rod Marinelli.

The team has scheduled a news conference at 11 a.m. Denver time on Wednesday.

"After giving this careful consideration, I have concluded that a change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos," Pat Bowlen, the team's owner, said in a press release. "This is certainly a difficult decision, but one that I feel must be made and which will ultimately be in the best interests of all concerned."

Mike Shanahan Fired: What Happened?

Shanahan, despite two Super Bowl victories in the late 1990s, was unable to lead the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl since John Elway retired. The team reached the AFC Championship Game following the 2005 regular season, but was defeated handily at home by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Since then, Shanahan's Broncos haven't made the playoffs and have posted records of 10-6, 7-9 and 8-8. Meanwhile, the San Diego Chargers replaced the Broncos as the AFC West's most dominant team, snatching the division title again this year during in a winner-take-all 52-21 blowout in the season's last game.

Shanahan was routinely criticized on sports talk radio, in the press, by fans and on the Internet as a coach and executive who couldn't draft or properly evaluate talent. While he was often praised as the "Mastermind" for his on-field coaching prowess, he was just as much derided for his inability to scout talent. That front-office performance could account for the Broncos' failures as much as anything.

Mike Shanahan Fired: His Replacements?

While Shanahan's firing has been speculated for weeks (and years in some circles), those who watched the team closely often said he wouldn't because there was no viable coaching candidate to replace him.

It's possible that Bill Cowher, the former coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a Super Bowl winner in 2006, would leave his NFL analyst gig at CBS to coach a team. Cowher reportedly isn't interested in the Cleveland Browns' vacancy, but media reported on Monday that he might be toying with the Jets' opening.

Other names that will probably surface after Mike Shanahan's firing include Miami Dolphins' executive and former coach Bill Parcells, who was instrumental in leading the Dolphins to the AFC East crown in 2008 after a 1-15 season in 2007.

Sources: Denver Broncos