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Monday, Feb. 1 2:44am ET Few words between Shanahan, Reeves |
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MIAMI -- Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan insisted he wasn't ready to consider a third straight Super Bowl title Sunday night, but his words gave himself away a few moments later.
"Our offseason program starts tomorrow," Shanahan said, barely
20 minutes after the Broncos had won their second consecutive
championship with an easy 34-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
Always thinking ahead. Typical behavior from somebody renowned
for his meticulous preparedness.
It's that kind of attention to detail that has allowed Shanahan, 45, to negotiate his way through the pitfalls
that stand in the way of any defending champion.
The Broncos not only came through virtually unscathed, they came
back even better. They won their first 13 games, lost two, then won
the final four to lift the trophy once again.
"Are we better? I really don't know," Shanahan said. "It's so
hard to judge. Over the past two years, everybody believed. The
more pressure we had on this football team, the more they stepped
up. That's what wins championships."
Not even the potential of an ugly family feud could distract the
Broncos this week.
Atlanta coach Dan Reeves, who spent 10 years coaching the
Broncos, let slip two weeks ago that his wounds haven't healed
completely from his firing in Denver six years ago. One of the
protagonists, he said, was Shanahan.
Reeves said Shanahan and quarterback John Elway conspired to run
their own game plan and blamed Shanahan for not telling him about
Elway's unhappiness with the offense.
Shanahan reacted angrily at first, then calmed back down and
said he would take the high road.
The issue died quickly in Miami, and the two exchanged a brief --
very brief -- handshake after the game.
"He just said, 'Congratulations.' I said the same thing to
him," Shanahan said.
Shanahan became the sixth coach to win back-to-back Super Bowls
and first from the AFC in nearly 20 years, when Chuck Noll's
Pittsburgh Steelers won in 1979 and 1980. Other coaches to win two
in a row are Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Bill Walsh and Jimmy
Johnson.
The Broncos also set a record by winning their 45th game over
the past three seasons, breaking a tie with Walsh's San Francisco
49ers from 1988-90. Denver's 33rd win over two seasons also set a
record, breaking ties with the 1972-73 Dolphins and 1989-90 49ers.
Broncos owner Pat Bowlen called this year the "greatest season
in Bronco history," pointing to Denver's 17-2 record and Super
Bowl win.
Shanahan, though, wasn't ready to put any of that into
perspective.
"You're always week-to-week in this profession," he said.
"I'm just going to enjoy it."
But not for very long. After all, it was Shanahan's emphasis on
the Broncos' offseason program that laid the groundwork for this
season's dominating run.
"We've got some dedicated guys," he said. "They know what it
takes to get to the next level."
Preparation begins next week.
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