The Lead

If you missed it over the weekend, we debuted a feature on former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, who was elected to the Ring of Fame earlier this year.

The video documents his NFL path with commentary from Shanahan himself, and also several of his former players and coaching disciples. Be sure to check out the full video, but here are a few of my favorite quotes from the people who most closely observed Shanahan's genius as a coach:

John Elway, former Broncos QB

"The work ethic that Mike had, plus the knowledge that he had of the game of football, we had an instant friendship and instant respect on my behalf of him as a football coach and how he could help me be a better football player, and he did that."

Shannon Sharpe, former Broncos TE

"Before Mike got there, we hoped to win. If we did this right or did that right, maybe if the other team had an off day, we could win. With Mike, we were expected to win. We expected to play well, and it was very disappointing when we did not win."

Gary Kubiak, current Vikings offensive coordinator and former Broncos QB and coach

"I don't ever know if I told Mike this, but one of the things I learned from Mike was that you could do those things and still be a good dad, still be a good husband, still find the time for those other things in life that are important."

Anthony Lynn, current Chargers head coach and former Broncos RB

"I think when you look across this league, you see his offense everywhere. It changed the game. I use it, the LA Rams use it, the San Francisco 49ers use. You see it everywhere. So I think he definitely left his mark on this league and left his mark on me."

Sean McVay, current Rams head coach and former position coach under Shanahan

"What I learned from Coach Shanahan early on was just establishing a process, a rhythm, and having standards with the way that you go about every single day."

Kyle Shanahan, Mike's son and current 49ers head coach

"My dad's been such a standard for me. One thing, it took me a while, I'll admit, to get into coaching just because I watched how hard he worked. And I didn't always know if that was possible for myself."