Oahu, Hawaii – During an excruciatingly slow round of golf last week, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and his former nemesis, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, shot their way into partnership.
As such, they quickly ganged up on a formidable prey: Mike Heimerdinger, who made the mistake of having the better round.
“Heimerdinger took all our money so Mike and I were in the same boat, giving him a hard time,” Manning said. “We were saying, ‘I thought there was a small bylaw that prevented a guy from being an offensive coordinator in the Pro Bowl when his team only won four games. I thought that was against the rules.”‘
Heimerdinger was the offensive coordinator for the 4-12 New York Jets until he was rescued by Shanahan two weeks ago to run the Broncos’ offense. The new offensive assistant was not spared the business from Shanahan and Manning, however, until the laborious round was called after 14 holes because of overcrowded conditions.
At one point, there were five foursomes waiting on a par 3. While this was bad for the golf swings of Shanahan and Manning, it did give them more time to get to know each other.
“I enjoyed being around him and his whole staff,” Manning said. “When you’re around them a little bit, you see why they won two Super Bowls and they’re always in contention. It starts with him. We’re all a little more relaxed here, but still you can see in the players and coaches here, what separates them.”
Shanahan and his Broncos coaching staff have been leading the AFC Pro Bowl team as consolation for losing the AFC championship game three weeks ago to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
There were half-hour meetings and one-hour practices each morning last week in Honolulu. Today, some of the best players from the AFC will play their counterparts from the NFC in the Pro Bowl (4 p.m. MST kickoff) at Aloha Stadium.
During their week together, many players saw a side of Shanahan they didn’t know existed.
“Looking at him, I took him to be like a dictator,” said Oakland defensive end Derrick Burgess, who led the NFL with 16 sacks. “Some guy who would be chewing (you out) all the time. But seeing him here, he’s a calm guy. Regular.”
Kansas City Chiefs guard Will Shields has been playing against Shanahan’s Broncos twice a year for 13 years. This was the first time he got to spend longer than a handshake with Shanahan.
“He seems a little more mellow than you would expect from seeing him on the sidelines,” Shields said. “You would think he would be the kind who would look down on people.”
Manning and Chiefs quarterback Trent Green shared a laugh when they saw some Bronco-recognizable plays in the AFC playbook.
“Peyton and I were giving him a hard time, what’s with all these bootlegs and rollouts?” Green said. “We said, ‘You thought Jake was going to be here, didn’t you?”‘
A groin injury forced Jake Plummer to decline his Pro Bowl invitation, which may be just as well for Shanahan. Understand the Broncos coach isn’t blowing off this trip as nothing more than an extended social visit. Shanahan laughed when he was told most players said he wasn’t nearly as bad a guy as they thought. He has been kibitzing with the guys, sure.
But he’s also paying attention, getting a read on these greats as people.
“It’s not like you become personal friends in one week, but you get a chance to interact and talk to each other,” Shanahan said. “Get a feel of different personalities and work ethic. How they handle themselves. Are they on time?
“It’s been a good week.”
Wait a minute. Back up. Notice how Shanahan casually mentioned promptness.
This may only be the Pro Bowl, but if they’re keeping score, Shanahan is serious about winning. A couple of players made the mistake of appearing lackadaisical early in the week and were baptized with the Shanahan Stare.
“He’s been pretty relaxed, but still that first day there were a couple guys late to the first meeting,” Broncos safety John Lynch said. “He didn’t like that. They weren’t late, late. They stumbled down at 9:32 for a 9:30 meeting, but still he had that look.
“I said, ‘Fellas, I don’t care where we are, don’t be doing that.”‘
If the Pro Bowl is close in the fourth quarter, better believe Shanahan the regular guy will again have that look of Shanahan the coach.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
