Plum job

Earlier this week, when Broncos owner Pat Bowlen gave Mike Shanahan a contract extension through 2008 that restored Denver's coach to the top of the league's pay scale, some outside observers were taken aback. Yo, is Bowlen a MILE high? they wondered. Since John Elway retired, hasn't this guy won the same number of playoff games as Molly Shannon?

It's true that since guiding the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl triumphs in the '97 and '98 seasons, Shanahan's teams have appeared in only one postseason contest, losing a wild-card game to the Ravens in 2000. And yes, after the legendary Elway made his grand exit on that warm Sunday evening at Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, Shanahan ultimately failed to turn Brian Griese into a worthy successor.

But from my humble vantage point, Shanahan belongs in an elite group that includes the Titans' Jeff Fisher, the Bucs' Jon Gruden, the Steelers' Bill Cowher and the Pats' Bill Belichick atop the coaching hierarchy, with the Jets' Herman Edwards climbing the charts with a bullet. And if I absolutely, positively had to pick the best, I might well choose the hyper-intense combatant who once ordered 49ers quarterback Elvis Grbac to fire a football at Shanahan's former boss, Raiders owner Al Davis, before a game in San Francisco.

Shanahan's excellence as a coach extends well beyond his renowned offensive genius. He not only is a thorough evaluator of talent; he knows how to manage his employees. Consider the way he approached the aftermath of the 2002 season, during which the Broncos, who started 6-2, staggered to a disappointing 9-7 finish, and players began to question Griese's toughness.

First, reasoning that a change was necessary to shake up the team, Shanahan swiftly decided that Griese had to go. Then he studied the list of possible quarterback replacements and came up with three options: The Rams' Kurt Warner, if he were available, was an obvious first choice. The Cardinals' Jake Plummer was a second possibility. The third scenario involved handing the reins to popular 38-year-old backup Steve Beuerlein, a highly successful starter in Carolina in the late '90s, and then using a high draft pick on a quarterback for the future while signing another veteran free agent as insurance.

Beuerlein, after overcoming the injury problems that hastened his departure from Carolina, was excited about the chance to assume control of Denver's talented offense. So when Shanahan signed Plummer to a seven-year, $40-million deal on March 6, Beuerlein was understandably bummed out.

"I had several conversations with Mike after the season, and I knew there were a lot of ways it could go," Beuerlein recalls. "When they signed Jake, I figured, 'They don't want me.' I told myself there was no way I was going back there, that if I was going to remain a backup I'd rather it have been anywhere else."

Two days later, Beuerlein and his wife, Kristen, welcomed an unexpected visitor to their home in Charlotte. "Mike had been at a roast the night before, and he got on a red-eye and flew all night," Beuerlein says. "He came over to my house, and the three of us sat and talked. Even though I was dead-set against returning, Mike convinced me otherwise. He said, 'I know what you're thinking. I know you're disappointed. But here's why you're needed and why we really want you to come back.' I have to admit, it was pretty persuasive."

That, sports fans, is coaching. It's also good business, in any field. Football players, understandably, tend to feel like pieces of meat, especially when the harsh realities of the profession come into play. Gestures such as Shanahan's can go a long, long way toward making an athlete feel like he's an integral member of a team, rather than just an interchangeable part.

Now, if Plummer falters or gets hurt, the Broncos have a guy who knows Shanahan's system and has the full trust of his teammates. Plummer, meanwhile, has a supportive mentor in Beuerlein, who remains a valued locker-room presence. Last December in Oakland, with Denver fighting for its postseason life, it was no coincidence that when Griese left the game with a concussion with his team trailing 21-0, the Broncos rallied around Beuerlein and closed to within 21-16 before succumbing.