Mike Shanahan was asked minutes ago at his firing press conference in Denver whether he'd be willing to take on a complete rebuilding job like the Lions at this stage in his career.

“You know, I don't want to talk about those things because it's really a slap to the Detroit Lions, just you're talking about a complete rebuilding,” Shanahan said. “I'll weigh the options when they come and make a decision what I think gives the best chance to be successful.”

Shanahan was fired Tuesday after 14 successful seasons with the Broncos. Certainly he's worth a call and would bring instant credibility to the Lions, but he ain't coming to Detroit.

First, the Lions appear to be going down the Atlanta-Miami-Baltimore-Washington route in terms of finding on fresh, moldable face rather than a coaching retread. Second, I can't see Shanahan wanting any part of the Lions without some say in personnel, which Martin Mayhew isn't giving up. More likely, he'd fit in Dallas when Jerry Jones gets around to firing Wade Phillips or he'll take a year off, get paid by the Broncos and make extra money doing TV.

“It depends on ownership and people willing to compete, do they want it as badly as you do?” Shanahan said when asked if there was any job he thought he couldn't turn around in a year. “That's the big question. Obviously there's teams winning three, four games (a year ago) that are in the playoffs, so if you're willing to compete and go to the limits you've got a chance, that's for sure.”