Shanahan aces every test

Posted: Mon January 26, 1998

Monday
Marriott Marina Hotel, San Diego

The 10 things I think I think on the day after the Super Bowl:

1. I think this is an insane and unending business for coaches, especially coaches who have total authority over personnel. But Sunday's game stamps Mike Shanahan as the best guy in the NFL with that dual role. I called him the IBM Deep Blue of coaches last summer in Sports Illustrated, and what he did in the off week before the Super Bowl puts an exclamation point on that. Shanahan oversaw two days of meetings to prepare for the offseason, finalized lists of the top seven or eight free agents at each position (that, by the way, must have been a real stretch), and organized a trip to Indianapolis for the scouting combine starting Feb. 5. "If you want to keep on top, you don't get a chance to savor it very long," Shanahan said. He did spend five quiet minutes in John Elway's room at the La Jolla Marriott around 3 on Monday morning. There was no preening by Shanahan, just real appreciation for what Elway had done.

2. I think Elway will be at camp in Colorado come July. Shanahan said this morning: "I've talked to John about this, and he's told me, 'If I feel my game's going downhill, I don't want to hang around to make money...I want to have fun.' I would really be surprised if he retired.'' So would owner Pat Bowlen, who tells me without reservation that he thinks Elway will return. There's a perception that once Elway won one, he'd retire. But why walk away from football when you're having so much fun and when you're still a force? Elway belongs in the game.

3. I think Terrell Davis was as much a slam-dunk choice for Super Bowl MVP as Steve Young was on his six-touchdown day in 1995. "I'm just a piece of the puzzle,'' Davis said Monday morning. We saw the game, Terrell. You are the puzzle.

4. I think Giants director of pro personnel Tim Rooney put Brett Favre's performance in proper perspective in the wee hours Monday morning: "I thought he was over games like this.''

5. I think Reggie White and Gilbert Brown must be sick about what incredible non-factors they were in the biggest game of the year.

6. I think one of the tackiest things I saw during this Super Bowl week was two Packers, wearing T-shirts on the field an hour and a half before the game, making calls on their cell phones.

7. I think I'm happy for Denver, one of the best sports towns in America.

8. I think Bill Romanowski could have a future in the WWF when his football career is over. Did you see his bush-league, after-the-whistle head slap on Mark Chmura Sunday? Settle down, big fella, or the fact that you're a very good player will get lost in all the garbage.

9. I think Seattle will decide not to raid the Packers. And I think, even if the Seahawks wanted Ron Wolf or Mike Holmgren, the league would lean on Green Bay not to grant permission. For crying out loud, Wolf's got a contract through 2002. His name shouldn't even be coming up.

10. I think the Super Bowl ought to be in San Diego every year. I'm dead serious. Idyllic weather, lots to do, idyllic weather, idyllic weather. And did I mention the weather's pretty nice?

Send me your questions, and look for the first postseason Mailbag on Thursday.

• Sunday: Notes from the press box
• Saturday: Countdown to kickoff
• Friday: From Tags to riches
• Thursday: Wolf cries foul as rumors swirl
• Wednesday: Hop on the coaching carousel
• Tuesday: Will Holmgren Pack it in