Shanahan article

[andre']

Read the rest of the article here:
Link to Rocky Mountain News article

He no longer is the little boy who wandered off on his own when he was 31/2 and spent several hours lost in the bowels of Florida Field until a security officer finally found him and reunited him with his panicked father.

And he has come a long way from the gangly teen who used to run fly patterns alongside Broncos receivers Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey during the summer.

At 28, Kyle Shanahan is all grown up, physically and professionally. And today, when the Houston Texans start minicamp, he'll step on the field as the youngest offensive coordinator in the NFL. Those who know him best say there's no question he was born to coach.

"I saw it in my son (David, an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs) just like I saw it in Kyle," said new Texans offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, who held a similar position in Denver under Mike Shanahan. "Mike had no chance to even move him in another direction. There was no way."

That's not to say the family didn't try.

Peggy Shanahan, Mike's wife and Kyle's mother, said they hoped their only son might choose golf or a legal degree.

"He's a real good arguer, so when he was real young, we started saying, 'lawyer,' and pushing in that direction," Peggy Shanahan said. "It just didn't work out."

And when Dad took his young son to the golf course, Kyle would hit one or two balls and sit down.

Even though he cried when his father was fired by the Raiders and lived a vagabond life, with six moves by the time he was 15, Kyle insisted he wanted to be a coach and, more specifically, an NFL coach.

"We finally gave up and said, 'OK, do what you want. You've lived this life forever. You know how hard it is,' " Peggy said.

Thus, Kyle this season will oversee players such as Chris Brown, a former University of Colorado running back and only a year younger, and quarterback Matt Schaub, two years his junior.

The age factor hardly worries Kyle.

"People make a big deal about it, but personally, I feel my age is my No. 1 asset. If you don't know what you're doing and players realize that, it doesn't matter how old you are, it's going to be miserable for you," Kyle said. "The fact that I'm younger and do know what I'm doing gives me an advantage. I wouldn't trade my age for anything."

 

[Double Barrel]

Cool story, thanks for posting!

p.s. Please provide a link, per forum regulations.

 

[andre']

Cool story, thanks for posting!

p.s. Please provide a link, per forum regulations.

Sorry, didnt know. As I was looking for the link, a nice mod edited it for me! Thanks

 

[Texans_Chick]

I don't want to end up repeating too much, but as I've mentioned before, Shanahan is really impressive talking football, and more specifically, what Kubiak wants to do with the offense.

I've been fortunate to sit through a few sessions of coaches talking coaching film, and Shanahan the younger talking film was lots of fun. He's really good with talking about why certain plays work and why other plays don't as far as positioning of players and selling of plays.

He looks really young, but once he starts talking, you forget that.

 

[RipTraxx]

I actually think Kyle is gonna blow our offense wide open. I like the idea of a young inovative Coord. with a QB guru of a head coach looking over his shoulder.

 

[kravix]

IIRC the big play action bomb to AJ was something Shanny drew up right there because he saw the safeties cheating when we were only putting 1 wr on the field.

 

[infantrycak]

IIRC the big play action bomb to AJ was something Shanny drew up right there because he saw the safeties cheating when we were only putting 1 wr on the field.

Don't think that was Shanahan. It was Kubiak, Schaub and AJ drawing up the play. Remember Sherman was OC last year.

 

[barrett]

I like the idea of a young inovative Coord. with a QB guru of a head coach looking over his shoulder.

not to mention Mr. Gibbs' insite.

 

[Danish_bull]

Good article and good read!

 

[GP]

I actually think Kyle is gonna blow our offense wide open. I like the idea of a young inovative Coord. with a QB guru of a head coach looking over his shoulder.

Thinking the same thing.

He seems to have a swagger to him. He seems to be a fireball.

I forsee a lot of risk-taking for our offense.

 

[Hardcore Texan]

Good read, thanks for sharing.

 

[andre']

do you think they will incorporate a bronco like running attack?

 

[Carr Bombed]

do you think they will incorporate a bronco like running attack?

They didn't hire Alex Gibbs for his looks.

 

[barrett]

they hired him for his fashion. everybody knows that.

 

[Showtime100]

I thought I would dust this thread off instead of starting a new one. Last night I nutted up with a dup thread anyway.

Good Yahoo article on Kyle I must have missed yesterday. The more I get to know this "kid" the more I like him. Besides, if AJ says he's worthy, he's worthy.

Shanahan on fast track like his father
By Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports

HOUSTON – Though he is the NFL’s youngest offensive coordinator, a 28-year-old wunderkind who’ll call plays for the Houston Texans this season, Kyle Shanahan doesn’t feel sheepish about the team’s decision to go green.


Truth be told, the fast-tracked son of Broncos coach Mike Shanahan began acting the part long ago.

During previous coaching stints with the Texans (as receivers coach in 2006 and quarterbacks coach in ‘07), Buccaneers (as an offensive quality control assistant from ‘04-05) and UCLA (as a graduate assistant in ‘03), Shanahan struggled to learn his place. Prone to blurting out suggestions in meetings with other coaches and players, the young assistant ultimately came to understand that such an approach made him come off as too cool for school.

“It’s hard, especially as a young coach, you can’t just speak up and give your opinions all the time,” Shanahan said after a recent Texans practice. “I used to do that and get stares. People would look and think, ‘Is this guy showing off?’ No matter how good I thought the idea might have been, I learned it was better to catch (another coach) on the way out of the meeting and suggest it gently.”


Mike Shanahan’s take on his precocious son? “Yeah, that would take him awhile to learn. He’s not shy.”


Now, like his accomplished father, Kyle will get to channel his assertiveness into game plans and on-the-fly adjustments on Sundays. With the Texans coming off an 8-8 season, the most successful in their six-year history, there is talk in Houston of a first-ever playoff appearance. With a promising quarterback in Matt Schaub and a star wideout in Andre Johnson, this is a team with the potential for big things on offense.

Read on....

 

[gtexan02]

So now we know why Chris Brown was REALLY cut. Good article

 

[Dancerdog]

I don't have any problem with Shanahan's youth. I'm excited to have a young, creative mind in charge of our offense. Besides, who could be better mentors than Kubiak and Gibbs?

 

[andre']

Now, a year later after this thread was first started what are your evaluations of the young Shanny?

Though the ground game hasn't flourished, this passing attack remains one of the most lethal in the league

So are you all happy with how he turned out?

 

[edo783]

Now, a year later after this thread was first started what are your evaluations of the young Shanny?

Though the ground game hasn't flourished, this passing attack remains one of the most lethal in the league

So are you all happy with how he turned out?

Pretty much. There have been peaks and valleys, but overall did reasonably well in his first rodeo as an OC.

 

[Hervoyel]

I'm not a fan. Too often our offense throws a play out there that leaves everyone (including Andre Johnson by his own admission) scratching their heads. 30 minutes of good football followed by 30 minutes of stumbling around like they just woke up does not make Shanahan a success. He's shown ability but he hasn't got it straight yet.

Next year it's learn, grow, and improve or hit the road I believe.

 

[Mari-OWNED!]

30 minutes of good football followed by 30 minutes of stumbling around like they just woke up does not make Shanahan a success. He's shown ability but he hasn't got it straight yet.

I honestly believe the 2nd half of the game was Kubiak's fault, and he told Shanahan to run the ball to kill the clock.

 

[mexican_texan]

I think he has a higher peak than Kubiak. Shanny isn't as conservative or predictable. He'll make a better HC than his dad.

 

[Lucky]

Now, a year later after this thread was first started what are your evaluations of the young Shanny?

Who really knows what is Lil Shanny and what is Kubiak? Not that it really matters anymore, Lil Shanny will join Dad in ______, next season.

 

[jppaul]

To be honest it almost seems like there is two different people calling plays in each half. I just don't see how there could be such a drastic change in a half if someone different wasn't calling the plays.

It is almost like one half of play calling is adventurous and the other half is conservative, one half is takes advantage of certain weaknesses and the other completely disregards them. It is so odd how schizophrenic we are this season in game.

 

[The Third Man]

You also have to recognize that players started dropping passes they were catching in the first half. Schaub didn't make the same throws, either.

 

[Kaiser Toro]

If the coaches coach tight, how does one expect the players to play?

This whole fumble/sit affair is antiquated and self defeating.

 

[houstonspartan]

Let's hold off on handing little Shanny a head coaching job. Give him a few years in complete control of the offense.

The way this team looks now, an owner would look at our offense and wonder why it's amazingly inconsistent from half to half. Is it the offensive coordinator or is it the head coach?

Little Shanny needs more time to prove himself.

 

[barrett]

You also have to recognize that players started dropping passes they were catching in the first half. Schaub didn't make the same throws, either.

This is often the case. It's team wide.

 

[Maddict5]

If the coaches coach tight, how does one expect the players to play?

This whole fumble/sit affair is antiquated and self defeating.

no it makes the players more accountable and i noticed foster wrapping up with both hands before contact many times yesterday.

 

[hookinreds]

no it makes the players more accountable and i noticed foster wrapping up with both hands before contact many times yesterday.

...but what helps/hurts the team more?

Known: Chris Brown will take the hand off and gain -2 to +2(if tackle is made from behind to push him forward), no ability to get you a short yardage 1st down or TD, and no hope of this pattern ever changing.

(Great, we hang on to the ball but gain no advantage on the ground what so ever).

Unknown: Any other running back on the team (or planet for that matter) taking the handoff and making 2-5 yards on every carry and have at least one 10+ gainer per drive, the ability to run for a 1st down and/or a TD, with a chance that they will fumble the ball 1.5 per a game.

(Great, we have the ability to run the ball through a hole, the opportunity to help move the ball down field and a shot at the endzone 6 out of 7 times, but cough up the ball on our own 35 the 7th time)

I'll go with "unknown". Hell, I'll even cough up the ball on the 8th time if it means that we've been able to have a running game on 6 other drives.

To me it's just cutting off your nose to spite your face by allowing Brown to remain in the back field.

 

[m5kwatts]

Who really knows what is Lil Shanny and what is Kubiak? Not that it really matters anymore, Lil Shanny will join Dad in ______, next season.

According to who? ESPN? John McClain? I still don't see a legitimate source stating this is possible for next year other than irresponsible media speculation. And why would he relinquish play-calling duties here to go have less power under his father?

 

[Lucky]

According to who? ESPN? John McClain? I still don't see a legitimate source stating this is possible for next year other than irresponsible media speculation. And why would he relinquish play-calling duties here to go have less power under his father?

When brought up to Kubiak on his radio show last week, Gary didn't deny that Papa Shanny would be interested in coaching with Baby Shanny. As fas as the why, just look at the contracts of the 2 head coaches. Papa Shanny will sign a multiyear contract. Kubiak's deal ends after 2010. It's as simple as "job security".

 

[Norg]

i heard hes going to teh redskins with his daddy he should stay here tho