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Shanahan, Reeves shake hands Denver coach says offseason prep 'starts tomorrow'
Posted: Sunday February 28, 1999 10:31 AM
MIAMI (CNN/SI) -- After basking in the glow of his second straight Super Bowl victory for, well, 20 minutes, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was back to business, moving quickly from winning a Lombardi Trophy on Sunday to going after an unprecedented three consecutive one next year. "Our offseason program starts tomorrow," Shanahan said 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 the 45-year-old rising star 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 Vince Lombardi 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."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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