Denver Broncos Fire Coach Mike Shanahan

Mike Shanahan became the latest and most stunning victim of the NFL coaching purge, fired Tuesday by the Denver Broncos after a late-season collapse knocked the team out of the playoffs for the third straight year.

From the Associated Press:

Shanahan joined Eric Mangini, Rod Marinelli and Romeo Crennel on the unemployment line after going 24-24 over the last three seasons, including three straight losses in 2008 that turned a three-game division lead to an 8-8 record.

Despite that, and the 52-21 loss to the Chargers that ended Denver’s season Sunday, this was a shocker: The ouster of a 14-year coaching veteran who brought two Super Bowl titles to a city yearning for a championship and was considered my many in this town to be “coach for life.”

“After giving this careful consideration, I have concluded that a change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos,” owner Pat Bowlen said.

Shanahan, 56, was 146-89, but the Broncos remained stuck at only one postseason victory since John Elway retired in 1999 after Denver’s second championship.

This season was especially ugly. It included a historic collapse that saw Denver become the first team since divisional play started in 1967 to blow a three-game lead with three games left.

The Broncos’ defense gave up 448 points, third worst in the NFL, including 112 during the three-game collapse at the end. It was ranked 29th in yards allowed and tied for last in the NFL with a minus-17 turnover margin.

In years past, Shanahan had relieved defensive coordinators — Greg Robinson, Ray Rhodes, Larry Coyer and Jim Bates — in almost revolving-door fashion.

Jets Fire Eric Mangini

The New York Jets fired coach Eric Mangini this  morning, just one day after the team failed to make the playoffs.

From the New York Times:

The Jets have fired Coach Eric Mangini, hours after the team completed a late-season swoon and was eliminated from playoff contention with a loss at home to the Miami Dolphins. The team announced the firing at a morning news conference.

“For the current New York Jets organization, we’ve made the decision to move on,” the team owner Woody Johnson said.

“We can’t pick a specific area. It’s a judgment call. I’m not saying Eric won’t be a successful coach. I think he will be.”

When the Jets were 8-3, coming off victories at New England and at Tennessee, the front office discussed giving Mangini a contract extension. But losses in four of the team’s final five games prompted conversations among team officials about whether Mangini had lost control of his players. By Sunday night, the decision had been made to fire him, and Mangini learned Monday morning that he was out of a job.

“I don’t think Eric lost our team,” General Manager Mike Tannenbaum said. “The team played hard.”

After three of the four seasons of his contract, Mangini, who at age 37 was the youngest head coach in the N.F.L.Brett Favre in the off-season. when he was hired, had a record of 23-26. And during the team’s 1-4 slide into ignominy at the end of this season, he made his share of decisions that were questioned. Now the precocious coach, who was sometimes called Mangenius, has been held accountable for failing to reach the postseason after the team acquired quarterback