Earlier this year, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said coach Wade Phillips wouldn’t be fired. And then he was.
Thereafter, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf provided a similar, though less sweeping, observation regarding coach Brad Childress. Not long before Chilly was cut loose.
Ditto for Mike Singletary, who widely is believed to be in danger of being fired but for a stellar finish to the season, even though he has received a vote of confidence.
So with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen telling Thomas George of FanHouse.com that Bowlen won’t be firing coach Josh McDaniels, the comment either should be disregarded -- or perhaps regarded as proof that the end is near.
“I am not interested in making a coaching change,” Bowlen told George.
Hey, there are plenty of things I’m not interested in doing. I’m not interested in having an appendectomy, but if that useless organ explodes inside me, circumstances quickly will change.
We believe that Bowlen prefers to keep McDaniels. But as some point Bowlen may have to give in to the mob. Making his preferences known at this point is, in our opinion, nothing more than an effort to get the mob to take their pitchforks and torches elsewhere.
If it doesn’t work, it may be time for that appendectomy.
Bowlen also realizes that the Broncos still have hope -- albeit slim -- at making the playoffs.
“I’m very happy with Josh,” Bowlen added. “Josh is doing a good job. I wish he had a few more wins, but we’ve got five games to go. I’ve got 27 years in this business. The ball bounces funny and it doesn’t always bounce your way. We’ve had bad breaks, injuries. I’ve been around football long enough to know this happens and it’s a part of the game. We’ve still got a chance to make the playoffs. People have been in a position like ours and it’s been done before.’'
He’s right. Two years ago, the Chargers closed a three-game gap in three weeks to beat Bowlen’s Broncos, and to send Mike Shanahan to the unemployment line.
Bottom line? Bowlen thinks the Broncos are still alive, and he sees no benefit in saying anything other than “McDaniels will be back.” But as we’ve seen time and again, the things an owner says in November often don’t mesh with the actions taken in January.
UPDATE: Within hours after the article was published, the Broncos released a statement contradicting Bowlen’s comments regarding McDaniels’ job security, without mentioning the comments.