SANTA CLARA, Calif. \u2014 Nearly three decades later, Mike Shanahan could\u2019ve sat here in the bowels of Levi\u2019s Stadium and still rattled off the names of every single member of his 1997-98 Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n
He remembers them. All of them. How they moved. How they practiced. A twinkle lights his eyes as he thinks of those years, his legs crossed on a couch along the wall of an atrium in what\u2019s now his son\u2019s kingdom. The 72-year-old Shanahan deflects any talk of the Pro Football Hall of Fame\u2019s snubbery<\/a> with an\u00a0aw-shucks grin. If such an honor ever happened, he says, it\u2019d simply be a nod to that \u201cspecial group of men\u201d he\u2019ll always remember.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, dogs,\u201d Shanahan tells The Denver Post, smiling with the memory. \u201cGuys that you said \u2014 we knew we were going to win. We knew we were going to win. And that\u2019s the type of team we had.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when you have a makeup of a football team like that, then you realize that you got a chance to do something special.\u201d<\/p>\n Minutes earlier, another football team like that had come strolling through the corridors at Levi\u2019s, Shanahan\u2019s familiar Broncos hitting another peak after a recent franchise history of valleys. Sean Payton told Yahoo Sports point-blank that this Broncos team<\/a> is the seventh he\u2019s had that he\u2019s felt can win the Super Bowl, and quarterback Bo Nix and others are hardly shying away from the conversation<\/a>. Shanahan, who now consults his son\u2019s San Francisco franchise in a sort of film-junkie advisory role, had an up-close look at all of them and a chance to catch up with Payton in Thursday\u2019s joint practice with the 49ers.<\/p>\n Shanahan has followed Payton\u2019s football career since he was a quarterback at Eastern Illinois. He felt Payton was the right guy for the job when he was hired by the Broncos in January 2023. Shanahan knows Payton.<\/p>\n And he knows Payton\u2019s public endorsement of his group means he believes\u00a0it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the way Sean is,\u201d Shanahan says. \u201cIs, \u2018Hey, I know we have the capabilities. You guys don\u2019t know. But I do.’\u201d<\/p>\n Shanahan and Payton have similar NFL team-building philosophies. On Monday, Payton indicated any chance at a Super Bowl had to start with a few foundational areas: quarterback, offensive line, defense, and, most importantly, ownership. Shanahan nods in agreement when these touchpoints are recited back at him.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what they do have,\u201d Shanahan says. \u201cWhich is fun to see.<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially in the situation they were in, losing draft choices; obviously, the cap the way it was, and draft choices, and everything,\u201d Shanahan continues, referencing the $85 million decision to cut bait with Russell Wilson\u2019s disastrous contract. \u201cNow, you\u2019re able to do that in a couple years \u2014 does not happen very often.\u201d<\/p>\n Payton\u2019s Broncos have the defense, Shanahan points out, saying he wasn\u2019t quite aware how\u00a0good that defense was until he took a look at last year\u2019s stats. They have the O-line, too, and a ground game that\u2019s a work in progress. The maestro of the modern outside-zone dropped a few hints for Payton.<\/p>\n \u201cThey averaged 4.1 yards a carry last year, and probably didn\u2019t run the ball quite as much as maybe they would\u2019ve liked to,\u201d Shanahan says. \u201cBut I guarantee you, if they\u2019ve got the ability \u2014 he wants to go from 4.1 per carry, I know Sean, to, he\u2019ll want 4.7, 4.8.\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019ve got the quarterback, too, Shanahan believes. He spent much of Thursday\u2019s joint practice watching Nix<\/a>, who son Kyle told San Francisco reporters he was a \u201chuge fan of.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cKnows what to say at the right time,\u201d Shanahan responds when asked about his impressions of Nix. \u201cKnows how to handle teammates. Handles the highs and lows in a short time. Just very impressed with his skillset as well \u2014 arm strength, ability to make plays with his legs.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then, not afraid. And that\u2019s what you like. Young guy that\u2019s not afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n And they have the ownership, finally, Shanahan says. He\u2019s met Greg Penner, the string-puller whose investments have helped turn Denver into a free-agent destination.<\/p>\n Nothing is promised for February in the waning dog days of summer. But Shanahan speaks of these Broncos with the same swell as his group in Denver\u2019s heyday, a swath of white hair ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019ve got everything that you look for,\u201d Shanahan says, \u201cin a championship team.\u201d<\/p>\n