You knew there would be some firings after the season ended, and I didn’t think any would be more surprising than Eric Mangini’s on Monday. But then the hammer came down on Denver’s Mike Shanahan, ending the regime of the NFL’s second-longest active tenured coach.

Maybe it shouldn’t have been so surprising. After all, the Broncos have been merely average for a few years now. They haven’t been able to successfully replace Terrell Davis (they almost did with Clinton Portis, but then they weren’t even able to replace him after he departed for Washington), and though Jay Cutler has emerged as a solid NFL QB, he’s no John Elway. Don’t forget that the Broncos had the AFC West all but wrapped up, then watched their playoff hopes disappear.

What is surprising, I guess, is that Shanahan was canned, rather than given the chance to simply walk away. This is a coach that won two Super Bowls with the Broncos. I remember Mike Ditka’s press conference after he was fired from the Bears, thinking why didn’t they let him just resign with a little extra dignity.

Shanahan will be employed with another team, maybe even by next season. With Bill Cowher rumored for every open job, his name will surely surface for the Broncos’.

In the meantime, Shanahan leaves the Broncos with two Super Bowl rings. That’s more than Ditka, Cowher, Mike Holmgren and John Madden. He’ll be remembered in Denver for that before he’ll be remembered for the collapse of 2008.