In his first three Super Bowls, Dan Reeves had John Elway under center and Mike Shanahan at his side. Come next Sunday, Shanahan will be on the opposite sideline, which seems only symbolic considering their fractured relationship. ESPN's Roy Firestone spoke with Shanahan about his relationship with his former boss and his role in Reeves' deteriorating relationship with Elway.

	Mike Shanahan and John Elway have built a strong working relationship.

Firestone: When you heard coach Reeves' comments earlier this week, saying he fired you because he didn't feel that your actions were in the team's best interest, how did it make you feel?

Shanahan: Well, I was quite disappointed to be honest with you. I just know how I deal with people. If I have a problem with one of my coaches or anybody in our organization the first thing I would do is call that person in and tell them what the problems are.

I was with Dan for seven years, and we're talking about the last year of those seven years. Dan Reeves never said one word to me.

Firestone: Reeves also wondered why you didn't tell him that John Elway was unhappy with his coaching.

Shanahan: Well, first of all, Dan knew that when I came in my first year, the relationship with John and Dan was not very good. I don't have to go into details. Dan knew that. John knew that.

But there was one article that came out in a newspaper where John hit Dan pretty hard. He spoke his mind. And I was always able to kind of keep that relationship intact, and all of a sudden he was mad at me that John went public.

I said, "Hey, I've been keeping this relationship at least what I consider amenable between both of you." I said, "Why don't you talk to John about why he wrote that, and not me."

		Monday, Jan. 25 Mike Shanahan was forced to respond to what Dan Reeves said last week. I was with the Broncos late last week, and the organization was very unhappy with the things that Reeves said. But Shanahan was immediately able to refocus himself on the gameplan for the Super Bowl. Before they departed for Miami, the Broncos spent extra time on the practice field, getting ready for Sunday's game. But Sunday, I think we will see something personal between Shanahan and Reeves whether it's before the game during the game or afterward. I hope it doesn't happen, but I think we're going to see something that lets the nation know this is something personal between Reeves and Shanahan.

That's when I went down and got John out of the weight room, and I said, "Hey John, you tell Dan why you don't like him. And Dan, you tell John why you don't like him."

Firestone: When you look across the field this Sunday, you have a football game to win and that's your job. But you were fired by Dan Reeves. How do you keep from getting emotional about this?

Shanahan: Well, first of all, this game is much bigger than Mike Shanahan or Dan Reeves. This is everything we have been working for, for this organization, the Denver Broncos. The Super Bowl is the ultimate. That's what you work for from day one.

And I've had an opportunity over the last -- how many years has it been -- to play Dan Reeves. I did it as an assistant when I was with the 49ers.

Firestone: And last year, too.

Shanahan: Yeah, last year. And it was emotional the first time. But life goes on, and I was hoping that we could keep that in the past, and take the high road in this game. And obviously we couldn't.

Firestone: John Elway's last game very well could be this Sunday. Will there be something extra special you might say to your players?

Shanahan: Everybody knows that chances are that this is John's last game and how special it is. But at the same time you have to get ready to play. And that's where I think our focus will be.

Firestone: You think he has made up his mind don't you?

Shanahan: Yeah, I really do. I really do . John's the type of guy that doesn't want the attention put on John Elway. He doesn't want everybody saying, "Hey, this is your last game." And go through all the hype, very similar, to me, to what Michael Jordan went through.

If he's going to make this decision, he's going to make this decision. If it was just John going out and playing on Sunday and preparing himself, maybe a couple of days during the week, he'd be there. But there's a lot of hours -- on the track, on the treadmill, in the weight room -- so John can play at his best.

John's not going to play unless he plays at his best, and one of the reasons he has been so successful.

Firestone: You won a Super Bowl title as an assistant coach at San Francisco. Last year, you won a ring as a head coach. It seems that's a pretty complete resumé. So how much more important is it to win it again?

Shanahan: It's the ultimate. There's not a better feeling in the world to walk off that field and think of yourself and your team as world champs.