Mike Shanahan

[MikeMitchell]

I have done several posts on the main discussion board about potential candidates as XFL head coaches. It’s more of a list of realistic options for all the cities in the league. Rather than people that I would personally love to see the league hire.

Mike Shanahan is someone that I think the league should reach out to. I think LA can be a great spot for him.

Let’s dig deep into this suggestion;

The XFL hiring a head coach with multiple Super Bowls on their resume would be a huge get for the league and would lend the league instant credibility. A 3 time super bowl champ with a 178-144 record. Shanahan’s coaching tree even extends to today’s NFL with head coaches like Sean McVay, Matt LaFluer and his son Kyle.

Shanahan has experience being a head coach/general manager in the NFL. He held that role with The Broncos and Redskins. It’s a role that The XFL is looking for their head coaches to fill and Shanahan emphatically checks off all the boxes.

Now that the coaching carousel is winding down. It appears that Mike Shanahan’s days as a head coach in the NFL are over. There were reports several weeks ago that John Elway considered replacing Vance Joseph with him in Denver. Now that Denver has hired Vic Fangio and that Gary Kubiak is returning. The possibility of a Shanahan Denver return seems to have closed.

Shanahan hasn’t coached in The NFL since 2013. At 66 years old, he’s not headed to the college ranks. Shanahan has spent the majority of his life on the west coast despite being born and raised in Illinois. Mike’s son Kyle is out in San Fran coaching The Niners.

A coach like Shanahan wouldn’t be coaching in The XFL for the money. He’s a multi millionaire. It would have to be for the love of the game and for one last hurrah at 66 years old. He has been an advisor and mentor behind the scenes for the last few years. He is currently on the advisory board of The Pacific Pro League owned by Tom Brady’s agent Don Yee. A proposed 4 team league in Southern California set to begin play in the summer of 2020. The league is targeting high school football players who are not looking to go to college. Whether or not, this would be a conflict of interest is another story, but if I was Oliver Luck. I’d make the phone call. The worst that can happen is that he says no but it’s worth trying.

[Joker]

Maybe he is too old for the XFL, or maybe he is just what they need to get respect.

[MikeMitchell]

Maybe he is too old for the XFL, or maybe he is just what they need to get respect.

Being 66 years old is not great but.... That's the same age as Belichick. I think someone like Shanahan would be a great get for the league. I just don't know if he has the energy to do it. It wouldn't be for the money obviously.

[wellington]

I think this is one market where the XFL is going to really struggle. The LA Chargers were abysmal at Stub Hub. The league is better off putting a team in Sacramento or Portland over LA.

[XtremeFanForever]

I think this is one market where the XFL is going to really struggle. The LA Chargers were abysmal at Stub Hub. The league is better off putting a team in Sacramento or Portland over LA.

They pretty much had to have a team in LA for broadcasting purposes. As long as they can deliver halfway decent ratings the team should last.

But I do think attendance/team popularity could be a problem. LA's reputation as a non-football city is over blown (although the Chargers moving to LA was a terrible idea from the start for a few reasons), however the XFL could still struggle because they're a spring league.

Even with LA's love for football being underrated as it is the two most popular sports teams in LA, by far, are the Lakers and Dodgers. Both of whom happen to be playing in the spring time (or at least part of it). So the XFL is going to have to compete with that.