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November 2008
 

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Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty ImagesPhoto by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Mike Shanahan

NFL coach

With his team once again on top in the AFC West, it’s looking like another standout year for Mike Shanahan and his Denver Broncos.

Known as one of the best offensive strategists in football, Shanahan has been leading teams to success since his first year as a coach, guiding the Oklahoma Sooners to a national championship in 1975 as an assistant. In the NFL, Shanahan has coached in six Super Bowls, winning as the offensive coordinator in San Francisco in 1994 and as the head coach in Denver in 1997 and 1998. In his nine seasons as a college coach, he took his teams to eight bowl games, including a Division II national championship for his alma mater, Eastern Illinois. Prior to his coaching days, Shanahan was a quarterback for Eastern Illinois until his playing career ended after losing a kidney his junior year.

In Shanahan’s 13 seasons as Denver’s head coach, the Broncos have had the third-best overall record in the NFL (130-78), behind only the Patriots (135-73) and the Packers (134-74).

— Seth Jones, senior associate editor

"You join these great country clubs and you expect prime conditions. You get spoiled. There are so many top-notch (superintendents) out there, there’s a lot of competition. If you don’t take care of it, members know. And just like football coaches, you don’t win, you’re gone. Same thing the other way; you don’t take care of a course, especially a nice course, usually (the superintendent) doesn’t last long.

I think the pressure (of being a superintendent) is worse (than that of being a football coach). Most country clubs have 300 head coaches; everybody thinks they know what they’re doing. We don’t have that many… we have the fans, but usually it’s not that bad within the organization. I think it’s pretty tough because a lot of (club members) run businesses, and they have strong opinions on how a course should be maintained and they’re not afraid to express it. I think it is a pretty tough job."

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