FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — If he were the snickering kind, Larry Coyer could say he’s a better defensive coordinator than Mike Shanahan is a head coach.
The bottom line provides proof.
Coyer is here, coordinating the Indianapolis Colts’ defense through its frightening challenge of trying to stop the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in Super Bowl XLIV. And Shanahan is not.
Not that Coyer is a told-you-so type. He looks better, thanks to a more hip hair style, and he feels considerably better, thanks to a new right hip. Otherwise, he’s still the softspoken, pipe-smoking West Virginia- raised gentleman that ran the Broncos’ defense from 2003 until he was essentially fired the day after Darrent Williams’ funeral in January 2007.
“Yeah, but I give coach credit, he gave us a chance to mourn,” Coyer said. “He knew how we felt about Darrent. You just have to face the facts. He’s the boss, and he handled it the way he wanted to handle it.”
A defensive free fall following the Coyer years led to Shanahan’s own dismissal as the Broncos’ head coach after the 2008 season. He has since been recently hired by the Washington Redskins.
Coyer immediately found work at Tampa Bay, where he served as an assistant for two seasons, then became a defensive coordinator again this season.
With Coyer in charge, the Colts’ defense — the team’s albatross during its otherwise decade-long run of dominance — has more speed in the lineup and blitzes in its philosophy.
“He helped me get rid of the stigma as a cover 2 linebacker,” said Gary Brackett, the Al Wilson of the Colts. “He gave me the ability to blitz, play man coverages, every coverage known to football.”
Coyer, it seems, has rebounded nicely. Truth is, Shanahan was sensitive in waiting until Williams was properly buried before delivering the tough news to Coyer. Most coaches make staff changes immediately after the season so they can get the jump on hiring available replacements. But Williams was slain hours after the 2006 season, and Shanahan postponed all football operations for a full week, until the team attended the starting cornerback’s funeral in Fort Worth, Texas.
“I’ll never forget it,” Coyer said. “Everybody thinks it’s corny but this was a special guy. He lit up a room. We lost a real good man because I think he was going to be a real valuable source to our society. It was such a tragedy.”
In the days ahead, Williams’ murder trial will proceed in a Denver courtroom. Looking back, a case can be made Shanahan’s biggest gaffe in his 14-year head coaching career in Denver was dismissing Coyer.
Initially, Coyer anguished in self-doubt, wondering if he wasn’t such a good coach.
“Yes, you do go through that,” he said. “It’s natural with the coaches. It’s devastating sometimes. But I really honestly feel this way: I was blessed to have that opportunity. Blessed to be with Shanahan. You knew when you took it that it wasn’t going to be forever. What I feel right now is just appreciation to have another chance.”
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
