Broncos' 'clear focus' has Team Turmoil at 4-0 - Albert Breer, Sporting News - NFL - Sporting News
The seeds for the Broncos' success were planted in New England—McDaniels has compared his trade of Cutler to Belichick cutting popular veteran safety Lawyer Milloy before the 2003 title season, using that experience as a guide—and really took root last year.
After McDaniels declined interviews for head coach openings in Baltimore and Atlanta in January '08, Belichick took his young assistant's experience to the next level, giving him insight into things (salary cap, draft, contracts, personnel decisions) that coordinators wouldn't normally get. That provided the foundation for the overall structure of his Denver regime, with Brian Xanders his hand-picked GM and ex-Patriots scouts Keith Kidd and Matt Russell trusted to lead the search for system-specific players.
"My hope is Bill knows I was working my butt off for him," McDaniels said. "I know he was trying to help me, even though it might not help him, because it would eventually lead to me leaving."
And so here we are, McDaniels leading his undefeated Broncos into an AFC showdown with the Patriots on Sunday afternoon, where one team full of tough, smart, versatile players faces another. It's no mistake, either, that McDaniels knows what's possible with that kind of group.