Opinion: Shanahan has incredible staying power

OAKLAND, Calif. • Remember when Mike Shanahan was celebrated? Remember when everyone called him The Mastermind?

Remember when he ruled the NFL as Super Bowl champ in consecutive seasons?

As we head toward the 10th anniversary of the Denver Broncos’ last title, it’s tough to remember when Shanahan ruled Colorado.

Once he was celebrated. Now he’s merely tolerated.

Tonight, Shanahan embarks on his 14th season as Broncos coach/emperor. He will invade the Oakland Coliseum, headquarters of the lovably bizarre Raider nation, to battle his least favorite team.

This is a season of diminished expectations — so diminished that Shanahan created a stir in the offseason when he predicted his team would travel to the playoffs.

“I believe in these guys,” Shanahan said in August. “We have a lot of fight and a lot of guys with ability.”

That’s the optimistic view. Last season’s team went 7-9 and required four last-second, game-winning Jason Elam field goals.

Shanahan has won 16 games and lost 16 games in the past two seasons. He’s missed the playoffs five times in the past nine seasons. He’s won only one playoff game since John Elway’s retirement.

I often hear from disgruntled Broncos fans, and many offer a simple solution to all the team’s woes: Trade Shanahan.

I understand the sentiment but must counter with a question: For whom?

Shanahan, for all his faults, would get snapped up the day he was dismissed, and the coaches who rank above him — Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy — would not be lured to Invesco Field at Mile High.

In Colorado, we tend to obsess over Shanahan’s disastrous excursions into the free-agent market. Yes, this is the man who signed such knuckleheads as Dale Carter, Daryl Gardener, Javon Walker and multi-vice man Travis Henry.

Yet Shanahan also traded Clinton Portis for Champ Bailey. He drafted Terrell Davis in the sixth round and Elvis Dumervil in the fourth round.

And, in his coaching masterpiece, he pushed his limited 2005 squad to the brink of the Super Bowl. A team led by Jake Plummer nearly played in football’s ultimate game. That requires superlative coaching.

I know it’s frustrating for the multitudes of Shanahan critics. Deep down, they know their protests are in vain.

Pat Bowlen, the Broncos smug owner, pays no attention to critics. He’s placed Shanahan on a pinnacle far above the tumult of day-to-day controversy.

Shanahan has ruled the Broncos since 1995. That’s an eternity in the sports world.

The Denver Nuggets were led by three coaches — Jeff Bzdelik, Michael Cooper, George Karl — in one season.\

Air Force’s basketball team watched three coaches — Joe Scott, Chris Mooney and Bzdelik — flee in four seasons.

Meanwhile. Shanahan lingers.

He watched over a savage offseason, waving goodbye to general manager Ted Sundquist and defensive coordinator Jim Bates along with Henry, Walker, Ian Gold and John Lynch.

They’re all gone. He, of course, remains.

The Mastermind hasn’t been riding high, but for some reason he doesn’t seem worried. That explains why he’s building a 35,000-square foot home in suburban Denver.

Or maybe we should call it a palace.