ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A trip around Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit reveals many reminders of Mike Shanahan's influence.
His Ring of Fame banner hangs in Denver's indoor practice facility, and a pair of Lombardi Trophies from Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII are on permanent display.
The Broncos' joint practice with the Packers on Friday offered yet another example of Shanahan's far-reaching impact.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who has led Green Bay to three division titles in five seasons, spent the early part of his career working for Shanahan as part of a star-studded staff in Washington. From 2010-2013, LaFleur worked as the quarterbacks coach for Shanahan and credited him Friday for teaching him what it takes to coach at a high level.
"Coach Shanahan has had a tremendous impact," LaFleur said. "He gave me really my first position job with Washington in 2010 as a quarterbacks coach. I learned so much from him, not only Xs and Os wise but how to manage a staff. The attention to detail that he would put into it is like nobody I've ever been around. … When you look back at it, we had a lot of guys who have gone on to be head coaches. I think it's because we learned the right way from Coach Shanahan."
Washington 2013 offensive coaching staff featured four future head coaches, including LaFleur, San Francisco's Kyle Shanahan, Los Angeles' Sean McVay and Miami's Mike McDaniel.
"His expectations and his level of detail, you better be on it; otherwise, you were going to feel him," LaFleur said. "I've never been around somebody who could focus as long as he could. I remember back in 2012, we knew we were going to draft Robert Griffin [III]. We're getting ready to implement the zone read, and we didn't want to talk to anybody around the league about it. So we would sit in [the film room] for hours, and we had this cutup that was a couple hundred plays long and it was Baylor's offense, it was [the] Carolina Panthers with Cam Newton and it was Denver, actually, with what they were doing with [Tim] Tebow.
"And I'll never forget, we'd watch it all — I mean, we were in there for a couple hours. And everyone is somewhat exhausted from the process, and he's like, 'Yeah, let's run it back to the top.' We were all looking at each other [thinking], 'How is this guy still doing this?' But, yeah, he had some stamina when it came to watching tape, and he was so thorough in the draft process with how he evaluated players. I just think there were a ton of lessons that we took from our time there."
The two-time Super Bowl champion is one of just seven coaches to win back-to-back titles, and he oversaw one of the most successful periods in NFL history as Denver won 46 games and two titles in a three-year span.
A semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2024, Shanahan is expected to be among the top candidates for the Class of 2025.
