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Jul 31, 2008 9:46 pm US/Mountain
Lynch: Situation 'Just Didn't Feel Right'
John Lynch Talks About His Departure From The Denver Broncos
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Written by Jesse Sarles, cbs4denver.com
DENVER (CBS4) ―
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John Lynch speaks to reporters on Wednesday.
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It was all about being a starter for John Lynch, and the veteran Broncos safety said Mike Shanahan agreed to let him pursue other options because the head coach won't put him in that role.
Lynch spoke to reporters on Wednesday and said that he is comfortable with his decision and that the team and Shanahan have been very fair as came to it.
"It's been a real tough last 48 hours coming to this decision in my heart," Lynch said. "What simply happened is the situation just didn't feel right."
Shanahan, who spoke after Lynch at the Broncos Dove Valley Headquarters, said after analyzing the current talent at the position he told Lynch about a week ago that he wasn't going to be starting at safety. Lynch said he wasn't sure how he felt about not starting. He said he would continue to practice but would let his coach know within a week if he wanted to continue to be on the team.
As it turns out, Lynch didn't like being a backup. He is now pursuing options with other NFL teams and possibly considering options outside of football.
Lynch had mulled retirement after the 2007 season, but he had decided to take a pay cut to return for his 16th season as an NFL player. He had started to come off the field on passing downs last year, but he played every snap in the last three games. In 2007 he missed one game with a groin injury and two more with a neck injury.
He finished last season with 62 tackles and one sack in 13 games. He also made his ninth Pro Bowl appearance and his fourth straight while a member of the Broncos.
In addition to thanking Shanahan and the fans Thursday, Lynch said he talked to owner Pat Bowlen and apologized for not being able to lead the Broncos to another Super Bowl championship.
"(I told him) I'm sorry for that, but I also looked (Bowlen) in the eye and said 'I gave you everything I could in terms of trying to do that,'" Lynch said.
Lynch said he and his family have come to love Colorado in their years here and that they are "seriously considering calling it home" in the future.
Complete Comments From Lynch, Shanahan
The following are Lynch's complete comments on Thursday, as provided by the Denver Broncos:
"I would like to start out by saying I'm going to pull a [Brett] Favre on you. I've changed my mind; I'm coming [back]. No, I'm not going to do that. It's been a real tough last 48 hours coming to this decision in my heart. What simply happened is the situation just didn't feel right. I've always been one to follow my gut and follow my heart with decisions, and when I've done that things have worked out pretty darn good for me. My gut was telling me that this wasn't the right situation, so I went up and had a great conversation with [Head Coach] Mike [Shanahan]. We talked about it, and I told him what I was thinking. He gave me some time to go home and think about it with my family. There in those 24 hours I tried to rationalize all the reasons to stay here, but my gut kept telling me that the situation just wasn't right and I couldn't make it right.
"I want to thank Mike, [President and Chief Executive Officer] Pat Bowlen and the Broncos' organization. The last four years here have been wonderful. As I told Mike, I only have one regret. When I came here I looked him in the eye and told him we were going to win a championship. We didn't get that done, and I'm sorry for that. But I also looked him in the eye and said I gave him everything I could in terms of trying to do that. Everybody here has just been wonderful to me. The fans have accepted us—Myself on the field and my family off the field. I came here with a lot of fear four years ago in a new situation and now we're seriously considering raising our family here and calling it home.
"Where do I go now? I'm going to explore all my options. Mike has allowed me to do that. I asked him to set me free so I could explore my options and I'm going to start the process of doing that. What are those options? Those options are to continue playing someplace else. I still have a great passion for the game of football. I still very much love it in my heart. I have prepared myself extremely hard this year and I feel like I'm in great shape. My health is tremendous. I still feel like I can compete at a Pro Bowl level. But the situation is going to have to be right. I'm not just going to play for any team or any situation. The situation is going to have to feel right, and if one does present itself, I'll consider it. If not I will consider other options. I got an e-mail this morning and already had my first job offer. Someone called and asked if I would coach fall baseball for our 9-year-old son. So I have one job offer, and I feel good about that.
"I would just like to thank everybody for the great years here. I wish this team all the best. I really like the feel of this team, and that's what made this an extra-hard decision. This team has a great chemistry to it and I think they are going to do very well. I wish them, I wish Mike, I wish everybody the best."
The following were Lynch's responses to reporters' questions:
On whether the 'right situation' is based on playing time
"No, it's not just based on playing time. I don't know exactly what that will be. I'll talk to a team. I think I have a pretty good gauge of a situation that would be right. I'll consider my family, I'll consider everything. If one presents itself, it feels good and it feels like something where I would put forth the commitment [then I will do it] because I only know one way of doing it and that's full-speed ahead. So I'm going to make sure it's right, but we'll see. We'll start that process."
On his conversations with teammates
"I haven't had a lot of conversations with the guys in the locker room. It all kind of happened suddenly—I left. Yesterday I had an opportunity to go out with about six of the guys. Hopefully they came back to the meetings on time and in good shape. We had a nice time, just kind of celebrating our time together and wishing them the best of luck. I wanted to explain to them what had gone down. I'll have an opportunity in the coming days to talk to my teammates."
On what has changed since his decision in March to play for the Broncos this season
"First of all, I don't regret the fact that I spent my whole offseason working for this. I put my whole heart into it. It was a different situation for me. I had somewhat come at peace with even the role of the playing time and that's a hard thing for me to do. I'm a prideful guy, and it was hard for me to let go of that, but I at some point had a level of comfort and peace with that. But it went even beyond that. As I was telling [my wife] Linda, the one thing I've always done is when I stepped in between those lines is I've always enjoyed myself in the locker room. I've always enjoyed myself when I've stepped in between the lines and the last couple days at the practice field I wasn't doing that and that's when I knew that something had to change."
On what was wrong with the current situation
"I came to grips with [not being a full-time player]. I had reached some level of peace, but it probably was that. It just wasn't sitting right. Like I said, I just knew that, you know, why prolong the situation? I felt like for the team's best interest and for my best interest, it was time to make a change."
On what had been different about his 16th training camp
"I tried to take an approach coming into camp this year where I was just going to enjoy every opportunity to get on that field and every second. I think it was different in that, for the last 14-15 years, being a starter in this league the expectations for the organization are that I would play at a Pro Bowl level and help carry a team. This year, I think I was treated very fairly, but there really were no expectations. So it was a different scenario for me. I think I handled it well. I prepared myself, got to an incredible fitness level and I was ready to play. But like I said, it just ultimately wasn't the right situation."
The following are Mike Shanahan's complete comments on Thursday, as provided by the Denver Broncos:
"I spoke to John after our last OTA day, and after our last OTA day John came up to me and said, 'Mike, if the season started today, where do you see me?' I said, 'John, to be honest with you I don't think in those terms with the OTA days. I can evaluate that after our first three preseason games and obviously our summer camp, but since you asked me…' I told him I would go back and talk to our coaches, look at all the OTA days and I'd tell him the next day at our bowling derby if we were starting today exactly where we would be.
"I sat down with John and I said, 'Hey you would be our first team safety, but you wouldn't be in our nickel package.' When I shared that with John, he said, 'Well Mike, give me about a week if you would to come to a decision if that was something I could deal with.' He said, 'If I don't call you within a week than that means I have decided to come back and give it my best shot even if I don't play nickel. I am going to give you everything I got and do everything I have been doing since I became a pro.' Knowing John, he was going to do exactly that.
"Then after Tuesday's practice he came up to me and he said, 'Hey Mike, I need about 24 hours to think about what I want to do.' He said, 'Right now, not playing nickel and not playing dime, I am kind of losing concentration with what you are doing even with your base defense.' Therefore, it's kind of tough for me. I said, 'Hey, take as much time as you want.' He came back to me and said, 'I am the kind of guy that really had to be involved. I've been a Pro-Bowl player and a consummate pro and I kind of don't like the role that I am in now and it is very tough on me.' I said, 'John, you have given everything to this organization that a guy could give, and if you think it is not going to work out here on an every down basis and you would like to look at other opportunities, I am not going to stand in your way. You have given me too much and you have been too much of a pro.'
I don't think that I have ever been with more of a pro then with a guy like John Lynch. He is the type of guy you look at in the future and say, 'Hey, this guy could be the president of the United States.' He is that type of guy. I felt like I owed it to him to let him look at his options whether it's football or retirement, whatever he wants to do. He has given everything that he could give in the four years that he has been here. When a guy is not happy, it doesn't feel right and I want to give him his opportunity to do what he thinks is right for his future."
The following were Shanahan's responses to reporters' questions:
On whether he was surprised by John Lynch's decision
"To be honest with you, when I talked with him after OTA days you could see how important it was. I talked to John and told him the reason he is so successful is because he has that mindset. He wants to be out there every down but if he is not, he would be such a great teacher toward the young guys but wouldn't be happy missing first and second down. What has made John a Hall of Fame player is that he has that type of mindset. He wants to play every down and I can't blame him and I'm not going to say that he can't.
I had to give him an honest evaluation of where we were and what we thought as a staff. One thing you never do to a veteran player is never lie to them. You tell them exactly where they stand so he can see his role. If he accepts that you can do some good things and if he doesn't, then the best you can do sometimes is part ways. If you are honest with each other than you have a chance for good things to happen and I wish him well."
On how the Broncos will replace Lynch
"You never find players like John Lynch from a leadership standpoint. They are one in a million. Like I said, he has everything you look for in a person and in a player. It is tough but we have some excellent players that are out there right now that are competing. Like I said to John, 'It's hard for me to say that you are not going to be the starter in our nickel package.' I said, 'I have to be honest, right now you would not be.' He believes that there are other opportunities out there for him. If he gets one, I will be rooting for John as long as he is not in the AFC West. If it is, I will be rooting for him as a person just not in the games we play him."
On what he will remember most about Lynch
"I think that John is probably the most well-rounded person I have been with. You can talk about football, you can talk about leadership, you can talk about family and community. He is everything that you look for in a guy regardless of football. Once he is done with football, he will be the best at whatever he does because he is that type of guy. He has charisma, he has class and he has his priorities in order, and that is why it is tough to let a guy like that go. I always believe you have to be honest with people. The way you lose friendships with people, especially as they get older, is by not telling them the truth. I showed him what we thought of as a staff and what his role would be and we accepted his decision as well. That is why we released him, obviously with no compensation. "
On Lynch's character
"Well like I said, that's the reason why he is a Hall of Fame player, the reason why he has been to nine Pro Bowls, the reason why he has won a Super Bowl, the reason why he was the leader in Tampa and a four-year captain here. He is a true pro, but you have to be honest with him to and you have to tell him how we see his role. What has made John the type of player he is, is that he believes that he is the type of player that is going to go out there and do it and I am not going to question it. That is where we are at right now."
On whether he tried to talk Lynch out of his decision
"What I have to do is tell him what I see his role is. I told him, 'That is where I see you now.' I said, 'At the end of training camp you could be first team safety and on the first team nickel or you can be a second team safety and a second team nickel.' I said, 'I don't know, the only way we are going to know is how you practice on a day-to-day basis and as you get older, we are all evaluated that way and that is what I have to do with these players.' With these players, you come in the locker room every day. I don't care if you are a first round draft choice, a Pro-Bowl player, I don't care what you have done, we are going to go out there and compete every day and the best people are going to play. When you have a guy like John who is year in and year out when you lose a guy like that it is tough. I shared that little bit of conversation that I shared with you with our players last night. Any time they lose a guy like John, they deserved to know exactly the conversation I had with him a month or month and a half before. One thing about John Lynch, whatever he does, he is going to be the best at it."
On whether he could sense Lynch's frustrations
"John is such a pro that you really don't know. I knew John would never be happy not playing every down and that is what has made John, John. Some players accept the role that if they are not starters then they can work with the young guys and build up there game and some guys are so competitive they want to be out there every down. If not, they would rather retire and I respect that or they want to go on another team where they can (start) do that. John is going to check out his options and the great thing about it is that he is healthy and he has worked his rear end off. You have a guy that takes care of himself. As I said, I wish him well."
On the amount of reps Lynch received during training camp
"Any time you are not on the first unit, you don't get a lot of reps. It's like the second and third players don't get a lot of reps. You are evaluated every day with you base packages as well as your nickel packages. John shared with me, he said, 'Hey, I have lost some of my concentration, even in our base packages I have made some mistakes that I never make just because I was thinking of the disappointment of not playing all the time.' I understand his thought process and I respect it, and that is one of the reasons why we released him."
On losing two veteran leaders in Lynch and Rod Smith
"Rod has been gone for awhile. He got hurt, and I think everybody knows his injury and when it occurred. Even though retirement was just a short time ago, Rod hasn't been with us. His presence hasn't been out on the field. I think John said it best—'If you're not out there playing, it's hard to lead. Rod Smith, even though he was a consummate pro, it's hard to be a leader when you are not out there. Guys have to step up and take leadership roles. We have a young football team and some older vets. It will be interesting to see who will step up and take the leadership role."
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