DENVER — Mike Shanahan became the latest and most stunning victim of the NFL coaching purge, fired yesterday by the Denver Broncos after a late-season collapse knocked the team out of the playoffs for the third straight year.

Shanahan joined Eric Mangini, Rod Marinelli and Romeo Crennel on the unemployment line after going 24-24 over the last three seasons, including three straight losses in 2008 that turned a three-game division lead to an 8-8 record.

Despite that, and the 52-21 loss to the Chargers that ended Denver's season Sunday, this was a shocker: The ouster of a 14-year coaching veteran who won two Super Bowl titles for Denver and was considered my many in this town to be a lifer.

"After giving this careful consideration, I have concluded that a change in our football operations is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos," owner Pat Bowlen said.

Shanahan's record was 146-89, but the Broncos remained stuck at only one postseason victory since John Elway retired in 1999 after Denver's second championship.

This season was especially ugly. It included a historic collapse that saw Denver become the first team since divisional play started in 1967 to blow a three-game lead with three games left.

The Broncos' defense gave up 448 points, third worst in the NFL, including 112 during the three-game collapse at the end. It was ranked 29th in yards allowed and tied for last in the NFL with a minus-17 turnover margin.

49ERS

DIFFERENCE IN OFFENSIVE STYLE GETS MARTZ FIRED

Mike Martz, the headstrong coach who took St. Louis to the 2002 Super Bowl, was fired yesterday after one season as the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator.

San Francisco coach Mike Singletary announced Martz's third firing in less than three calendar years following an afternoon meeting with the veteran offensive mastermind.

This parting had long been expected, and it wasn't nearly as acrimonious as Martz's last two dismissals in St. Louis and Detroit.

"I wish him nothing but the best," Martz said of Singletary, adding that the Hall of Fame linebacker will be "an outstanding head coach."

"I am not what he is looking for offensively," Martz said. "I understand that. This is just a part of professional sports."

Martz's dismissal means the 49ers are looking for their seventh offensive coordinator in seven years. San Francisco's offense was the NFL's lowest-ranked in two of the previous three seasons.

Singletary, who played for the Chicago Bears under Mike Ditka, wants the 49ers to run more of a ground-based, smash-mouth offense instead of Martz's sophisticated passing schemes.

HONORS

FALCONS' RYAN IS AP'S TOP OFFENSIVE ROOKIE

Matt Ryan found a quick way to make Falcons fans forget Michael Vick, Bobby Petrino and all the ugliness of Atlanta football.

The quarterback led a sensational turnaround from laughingstock franchise to Super Bowl contender, for which Ryan earned The Associated Press 2008 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award yesterday.

And he did it in a year loaded with outstanding offensive rookie performances.

"I'm certainly flattered," Ryan said. "There's a number of guys who had great rookie seasons this year, so to even be mentioned in that light is nice. It's certainly a great honor, and I think it speaks to what we did as a team this year."

What the Falcons did was go 11-5 and make the playoffs after a dismal 2007 that saw Vick incarcerated for dogfighting and Petrino leave after 13 games to go coach Arkansas. Ryan was chosen third overall out of Boston College to be the cornerstone of Atlanta's rebuilding.

"The season seems like a blur, without question," Ryan said. "It seems like it's gone by so fast. I just really tried to take it in stride and not get caught up in all the things that happened this year."

ELSEWHERE

BIlls: Buffalo coach Dick Jauron will return next season after team owner Ralph Wilson decided a shake up wasn't necessary despite a third consecutive 7-9 finish. Wilson announced he had decided to retain Jauron and the entire coaching staff after meeting with the coach yesterday.

Browns: Cleveland has scheduled an interview with fired New York Jets coach Eric Mangini, a person with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press. Mangini will meet with Browns owner Randy Lerner in the New York area, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the interview.

Texans: Dissatisfied with the slow development of a defense featuring three first-round picks, Houston coach Gary Kubiak fired coordinator Richard Smith and two other defensive assistants yesterday. The dismissals of Smith, secondary coach Jon Hoke and defensive line coach Jethro Franklin came after Houston finished 8-8 for the second straight year.

Jets: Bill Cowher is out of the running for New York's vacant coaching job. The team had planned to sit down soon with Cowher, who had expressed interest in the job, a person familiar with the search said earlier yesterday. But the negotiations never advanced to scheduling a formal meeting. "After reaching out to Coach Cowher's representatives, we were informed tonight that he is not a candidate for the position," Jets spokesman Bruce Speight said last night.