Shortly after the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl

Nate Jones played running back and defensive back at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. As a senior, he was a first-team all-state selection, rushing for 2,474 yards and 36 touchdowns along with 6 interceptoins.

Nate Jones played college ball at Rutgers, where he was a four year letterman. He finished his career with 219 tackles, 5 interceptions, 18 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. He also blocked three kicks and returned 82 kickoffs for 3 touchdowns.

He was then drafted in the seventh round by the Dallas Cowboys Brian Dawkins  in the 2004 Draft. He played in all 16 games in his rookie year while recording 31 tackles and a sack. In 2005, he continued his role as a backup and notched 2 tackles on defense with 12 on special teams. In 2006, he was inactive for the first 12 games, but in the final four he recorded 8 tackles on defense and 3 on special teams. In 2007, he was inactive for one game and played as a backup in 15. He recorded 17 tackles, a sack and 2 forced fumbles on defense and 9 tackles, 6 kickoff returns for a 20.4 yard average on special teams.

After the 2007 season, Nate Jones became a free agent and signed a two-year new Denver Broncos jerseys deal with the Miami Dolphins. The obvious connection is Bill Parcells, who drafted Jones as the head coach of the Cowboys in 2004. In 2009, the Dolphins used Jones much more extensively than he was used as a Cowboy. He was lined up in nickel packages and often covered the slot receiver. He recorded a career-high 45 tackles. From reports I've read, he did a great job of playing nickel corner, last year, but the reason he was cut is likely because of how Wes Welker shredded his coverage twice last year to the tune of 19 receptions for 251 yards. Let's face it, though... not many people in the NFL are going to be able to cover Wes Welker. Also, if you assume he made the tackle on most of those Welker receptions, you could say that Welker was almost half of his receptions allowed and that was only in two games. That has to count for a moral victory, at least.

It's true that Shanahan would never win a Super Bowl without Elway. But Elway was 0-3 in the "Big One" before Shanahan became his head coach.

It was widely expected that Bubby Brister, Elway's longtime backup, would inherit the Champ Bailey starting job for the 1999 season. It was here, however, that Shanahan first demonstrated his unpredictability in handling his team's quarterback situation. Instead of Brister, Shanahan started second-year quarterback Brian Griese, the team's third-round draft pick in 1998.

Shanahan also had to overcome the loss of another key offensive weapon, running back Terrell Davis. The 1998 NFL MVP was lost to a knee injury four games into the season.

Davis' replacement was rookie Olandis Gary, a fourth-round draft pick. All Gary did was rush for 1,159 yards in 12 games. He became the first in a long line of "plug and play" running backs who were able to crank out 1,000-yard seasons running behind Shanahan's zone-blocking scheme.

Despite the success of Gary, the Broncos' chances of a Super Bowl "three-peat" were dead in the water by early October after a 0-4 start. Griese performed just like one would expect a first-year starter to perform - he was consistently inconsistent.

In 2000, Shanahan and the Broncos rebounded to post an 11-5 record. The designated Eddie Royal beneficiary of Denver's run-blocking machine was 26-year-old rookie Mike Anderson, who had played for the band in high school and had spent a four-year hitch in the Marines. The sixth-round pick ran for 1,487 yards.

But the Broncos lost to Baltimore 21-3 in the first round of the playoffs. That started a disturbing trend for Shanahan. After going 7-1 in his first eight playoff games, Shanahan and the Broncos went 1-4 in the postseason for the rest of the coach's tenure in Denver.

Shanahan's last playoff loss was particularly hard to swallow. The 2005 Broncos had rolled to a 13-3 regular-season record and held the second seed in the AFC playoffs. Jake Plummer, acquired by Shanahan as a free agent, had replaced Griese at quarterback and reeled off a Pro Bowl year. Anderson (1,014) and Tatum Bell (921) combined to rush for nearly 2,000 yards. The defense did its part, holding opponents to 258 points, the third-best mark in the NFL.

The Broncos knocked off the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots in the divisional round.  But the Steelers, a wild-card team playing its third road game of the playoffs, came into Denver and thumped the Broncos 34-17.

Shanahan would last in Denver for three more seasons. The Broncos went 24-24. Some questionable draft picks, and some free agency signings that didn't work out hurt. The defense morphed from one of the "bend but don't break" variety to a sieve. They gave up over 400 points in 2007 (409) and again in 2008 (448).