Denver Post article on McDaniels

Includes some interesting quotes from ex-Patriots.

McDaniels would need vets' nod
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post

Josh McDaniels has excelled during his time as Patriots assistant. Ultimately, it won't be Pat Bowlen who decides whether Josh McDaniels, at 32, is ready to become the Broncos' next head coach.

It would be Champ Bailey and Casey Wiegmann. The decisions would come from the hearts, souls and minds of D.J. Williams, Jay Cutler and Ebenezer Ekuban. It's the Broncos players who would determine whether a kid like McDaniels would be worthy of their respect, and trust, to follow his lead.

"If he were going to get the job, I would say without exception the players would be surprised when he walks through the door," said . . .

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Worth the read. I will still be stunned if they choose to replace Shanahan with McDaniels, it doesn't make sense to me on several levels. He is a good fit with their offensive weapons though.

Yeah, Cutler-Marshall-Royal is a good place to start. On the other hand, Chad Jackson is probably hoping he doesn't get it.

I'm not so sure the age thing would be as big a factor in Denver as it would be elsewhere. They have a pretty young roster (something like 60% with 3 years or less in the league), and the vets like Bailey, Darrell Jackson, Nalen, Wiegmann, all seem like good solid locker room guys. Brandon Marshall is the only possible problem player.


Also, this quote from Jim Miller speaks strongly against the poster who said McDaniels doesn't know enough about defense.


"Bill Belichick does a great job with all his assistants where they start out on defense first and then they work their way to the offensive side of the ball," Miller said. "He wants them to be good at everything. That's what Bill Belichick does — he could coach every position on the field. He tries to expose his coaches to that as well."

Solid read,thanks! This passage reminded me of some discussions some friends and I had back when we first got Josh (lots of our players being older than him and how/IF that would have any impact):

"Their first thought will be, 'Who is this kid?' Because everybody to some degree judges things by appearances. Even though we all do our best not to.

"And Josh, even for a 32-year-old, he looks 25. I remember I was taken aback when I first met him. I thought, 'This is the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots?' "

It's funny. I heard Michelle Tafoire on ESPN radio over the holidays and she said that when they were covering the Pats for an ESPN game last year. They had an interview with McDaniels scheduled. When McDaniels walked in, they though the was a junior level PR person and were surprised when he introduced himself as the Offensive Coordinator of the Patriots.

Grow a beard Josh...

I don't care how "smart" a guy is football-wise: A man in his early thirties is not ready to lead an NFL team to the Super Bowl.

Leave No Doubt said:

"And Josh, even for a 32-year-old, he looks 25. I remember I was taken aback when I first met him. I thought, 'This is the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots?' "

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Of course, let's not forget that Kyle Brady is only about twice McDaniels' size.

Tunescribe said:

I don't care how "smart" a guy is football-wise: A man in his early thirties is not ready to lead an NFL team to the Super Bowl.

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I don't see a sarcasm tag here. . . .

Tunescribe said:

I don't care how "smart" a guy is football-wise: A man in his early thirties is not ready to lead an NFL team to the Super Bowl.

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Mike Tomlin disagrees.

Lampshade said:

Mike Tomlin disagrees.

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He would.....and for 2 more games it's irrelevant.

Well, considering that the winners of the last bunch of Super Bowls were:
Coughlin, Dungy, Cower, BB, and Gruden, all were on their second teams as head coaches or had been with their teams for ages. Experience seems to trump a lot when it comes to coaching.

Why more teams won't consider Marty Schottenheimer is beyond me?

mike_usagisan said:

Well, considering that the winners of the last bunch of Super Bowls were:
Coughlin, Dungy, Cower, BB, and Gruden, all were on their second teams as head coaches or had been with their teams for ages. Experience seems to trump a lot when it comes to coaching.

Why more teams won't consider Marty Schottenheimer is beyond me?

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Because he is old as dirt, and likely doesn't have a long stretch in him.

Tunescribe said:

I don't care how "smart" a guy is football-wise: A man in his early thirties is not ready to lead an NFL team to the Super Bowl.

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Although he didn't actually win a Super Bowl until his late 30s, John Madden was Coach of the Year, went 12-1-1, and went to the AFL league championship game (would be the Conference Championship game today) at age 32. At 33, he went 8-4-2 and also went to the AFL league championships. So, Madden was ready enough to get his team one game away from the Super Bowl in his early 30s.

Tunescribe said:

I don't care how "smart" a guy is football-wise: A man in his early thirties is not ready to lead an NFL team to the Super Bowl.

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I bet John Gruden disagrees.

Lampshade said:

Mike Tomlin disagrees.

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Damn it...I should have read the entire thread before responding. I would have come up with another "original" comment...

Although I used a different example.

ctpatsfan77 said:

Of course, let's not forget that Kyle Brady is only about twice McDaniels' size.

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OMG I know! I remember the pic Reiss had of him and Kyle standing together lol On a side note,too bad that didn't work out-KB was just monstrous.

If your a leader, you have a clue and are proving it thus earning the players respect age is irrelevant. For Josh it's all about getting that foot in the door to prove himself as a HC, which I'm sure he will as he progresses in the role.

If your not mature and not sure how to handle pressure at 30 theres nothing down for you in life. Only problem McDaniels has is lack of experience as a HC, but you don't get experience without experience.

Tunescribe said:

I don't care how "smart" a guy is football-wise: A man in his early thirties is not ready to lead an NFL team to the Super Bowl.

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None of the teams that McDaniels has been connected to as a potential head coach are teams that would expect to get to the Super Bowl in the next 2 years, so I'm not sure about the relevancy of your post.

Tunescribe said:

I don't care how "smart" a guy is football-wise: A man in his early thirties is not ready to lead an NFL team to the Super Bowl.

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He'd have to have a pretty strong personality - I agree. I've always said that this was my biggest concern with McDaniels as a pro Head Coach ... not even the age alone. Is he a hard-assed coach the way an NFL team needs? I don't have the answer but I haven't seen that side of his personality, that's for sure.

That being said, if he is picked you can be sure he'll make an example of a high priced veteran and make a surprise cut. That tends to get the notice of most players.

I still think McDaniels would be better taking a good college head coaching job - shorter season, his age works to his advantage in college, less pressure, potentially just as much money, and if he fails chances are one can say he failed as a recruiter, not a coach, and with a few more years as a head coach under his belt, he can always move back into the Pro ranks as a head coach.