By Erik Matuszewski

Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Mike Shanahan’s 14-year tenure as coach of the Denver Broncos, which yielded two Super Bowl titles, ended yesterday when he was fired after failing to steer the team to the playoffs for a third straight season.

Shanahan is the fourth coach to be fired since the National Football League’s regular season ended three days ago. Eric Mangini of the New York Jets, Rod Marinelli of the Detroit Lions and Romeo Crennel of the Cleveland Browns were also ousted.

The Broncos lost their final three games of the season to finish 8-8. With a postseason berth on the line, Denver was routed by the San Diego Chargers 52-21 in its last game.

“A change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos,” owner Pat Bowlen said in a statement. “This is certainly a difficult decision, but one that I feel must be made and which will ultimately be in the best interests of all concerned.”

Coaches with losing records who hung on to their jobs include Dick Jauron, who will stay at the Buffalo Bills after guiding the team to its third consecutive 7-9 finish. The San Francisco 49ers also elected to retain Mike Singletary, removing the interim tag from his head coach title, after the team finished 7-9 to miss the playoffs for the sixth straight year.

The 56-year-old Shanahan had coached the Broncos since 1995, compiling a 138-86 record and winning Super Bowls with John Elway at quarterback after the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Since Elway retired 10 years ago, the franchise is 1-4 in the postseason.

Fisher

Shanahan also held the title of vice president of football operations and was in charge of the team’s personnel decisions.

Among current NFL coaches, only Jeff Fisher of the Tennessee Titans had a longer tenure with the same team. Fisher has been with the Titans since 1994.

Shanahan also coached the Raiders in 1988-89 and had two stints as an assistant with the Broncos under former coach Dan Reeves before taking over the team.

“I appreciate the 21 years that Mike Shanahan has given to the organization as an assistant and head coach, and the two Super Bowl wins in that time,” Bowlen said. “His contributions hold a special place in Broncos history.”