Mike Shanahan

We come to the coach who guided the team to multiple AFC West titles and the Broncos' first two Super Bowl victories.

Mike Shanahan does have a few things that work in his favor, though there are a few things that may hold him back. But let's consider some questions.

Is he the best coach in the history of football who is not in the Hall of Fame? That depends on what you're looking at. If you fixate on victories and Super Bowl wins, Shanahan is in the conversation. But while he ranks 15th overall in victories, he's still behind Dan Reeves (believe it or not), Jeff Fisher and Marty Schottenheimer. In terms of playoff wins, he has eight, which puts him not just behind Dan Reeves, but George Seifert, of all people. (He's also behind Jimmy Johnson, who has nine and can't get into the Hall.)

What impact did the coach have on the history of the game? Did he change the game in any way? You might have a case here. Shanahan is associated with the zone-blocking scheme that Alex Gibbs implemented, then Shanahan stuck with after Gibbs finished his coaching career. Some might argue that Shanahan was ahead of his time when it came to the explosion of the passing game, though it's worth asking how much of that came because Terrell Davis hit the scene and forced defense to account for him.

If he coached a team, how likely would his team win a conference championship? How likely would his team win a divisional title? Shanahan guided the Broncos to multiple to two conference championships and multiple division titles. But he couldn't get the Broncos over the hump in his final three seasons. He did get Washington one division title, but had two losing seasons before that and things fell apart in his fourth season.

Shanahan suffers from another problem that most coaches have: He's battling players to get into the Hall. It might help Shanahan if coaches were placed with the contributors instead (a move I favor).

Even so, Shanahan would likely be waiting a while. Don Coryell, for example, had an impact on the NFL and can't get into the Hall. Same with Jimmy Johnson, despite multiple Super Bowls and a draft chart some people still like to use. Marty Schottenheimer is seventh all-time in victories but everyone holds his playoff record against him.

And when Shanahan has fewer career victories than Dan Reeves, Chuck Knox, Jeff Fisher and Tom Coughlin, and is slightly ahead of Mike Holmgren — all coaches who few would argue should be in the Hall — it's not going to be easy to get Shanahan.

If you want to argue his case, you'll have to argue less about victories and more about his influence. Otherwise, you might not make progress.