Like most Denver Bronco fans I was shocked at the firing of Mike Shanahan as head coach of the team. He had been the head coach for 14 years. That is a long time! As a fan I almost feel like I know him because of the number of games and interviews I have seen over those years. That made it hard to hear that he was no longer going to be around.
I was able to watch most of his press conference the day after his dismissal as head coach. I was moved by the humility and transparency that Coach Shanahan displayed as he fielded difficult questions regarding his firing.
Shanahan always presented himself as a confident man and a sharp leader, but there was something different at this press conference. The Broncos are a very proud organization, but they have not had much success in the past several years. Coach Shanahan did not make excuses, he took responsibility for the team’s lack of success.
What stood out to me was how Shanahan kept referring to the owner of the Broncos, Pat Bowlen, as a great leader: “the best owner in football” he said several times. Shanahan and Bowlen have a unique employee employer relationship. They are best friends. How difficult would it be to be fired by your best friend? How difficult would it be to fire your best friend? However, Shanahan said several times: “Leaders have to make tough calls and decisions. They have to make choices that are best for the organization. And that is what Pat had to do in this situation.”
Shanahan took a lot of heat for not being able to win without the Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. Most people consider Shanahan a failure because he could not win the big one with out his prized quarterback. Mike Shanahan will be a head coach in the NFL again, and who knows the success that might be ahead of him, but he will always have to walk with the limp of being fired. He will walk with the limp of failure. Can you imagine the pressure that being in the spot light has caused Coach Shanahan? It is easy to let failure become our identity and to let success become our identity. How much for those in the spot light?
Have you ever been fired from a job? In my teens and early twenties I bounced from odd job to odd job. I remember being fired from a job once; it was humiliating even though the job was not that big of a deal. It affected my self-worth negatively. It wasn’t until I became a Christian that I was released from a “failure mentality”. The problem is we tend to find our identity in our success or our failures. The reality is if you follow Jesus you should never find your identity in anything or anyone other than Christ:
"He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (2 Corinthians 5:15-17 NLT)
I have a limp. It is not a visible limp. It is inside of me. It is an emotional limp. Sometimes you have to look real close to see my limp, but I promise you its there. The limp is caused by scar tissue on my heart. There are scars on my heart that will always be there. These scars are self-inflicted by the many mistakes I have made. They are reminders of the many failures I have endured. Like everyone else life has dealt me some difficult blows. My life is filled with “coulda’s, shoulda’s, and woulda’s’. “I could have done this. I should have done that. If I had only known then it would have been different.”
My scars are not all self-inflicted. Like everyone else I have been on the receiving end of rejection and betrayal. In many ways those scars cause the biggest part of my limp. However, the blessing of walking with a limp is it is also a reminder of God’s grace. It reminds me that only he can take something meant for evil and turn it for good. Only he can take failures and work them for our good and his glory.
A couple of people close to my life have noticed my limp and I have to admit I am a little embarrassed by it. Who wants to be singled out as handicapped? These two men do not know each other but said the same thing to me. They said “the limp says we can trust you.” Hearing that statement was like a drink of cold water for my thirsty soul. It was like that good pain you feel when you massage a bruise.
I pray that my limp causes me to walk in empathy towards others. I pray that my limp will be used to help others through their pain.
I do not know if coach Shanahan will be a better coach because of his firing (his limp). But I do know because of it he has an opportunity to become a better man for it. On his next job he will be a better leader for it.
Lets limp together!
