As reported by Chris Mortensen early this morning, the Denver Broncos will be holding a press conference later today to announce the hiring of Josh McDaniels as the new head coach of the team.
This hiring was unbeknownst to Leslie Frazier, Defensive Coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, who was considered to be in contention with McDaniels for the job. Frazier was quoted as saying,
"It would mean a lot to have that opportunity," he said. "I'm not going to lose any sleep. It would be a great opportunity..."
Along with the announcement of McDaniels hiring, is that he will be bringing either Patriot’s Defensive Back coach Dom Capers or former 49ers coach Mike Nolan in as the new Defensive Coordinator.
Many Broncos’ fans (including myself) are disappointed to say the least from this hiring, many of whom wished to have a defensive-minded head coach hired.
I, for one, give it up to Pat Bowlen, who kept his franchise safe from the “racism blame game” by keeping Frazier as a candidate until the end...Too bad he failed to mention to Frazier that he was no longer in contention for the job so he woke this morning to 80 messages on his answering machine about how he feels about being out of the only head-coaching job in which he would inherit a team with a chance of winning (he is favored in the St. Louis Rams & Detroit Lions coaching vacancies...)
I know I’d be excited about inheriting an 0-16 franchise, after all there’s no expectations because your team is as bad as it gets. The players went from playoff contention to stealing their grandma’s pension. But hey, let's not play the race card in this hiring, after all, McDaniels is “hip and young.”
Dre Bly is one who is excited about McDaniels coming to town, as he stated earlier,
"That's enthusiasm, man," he said "Coach Shanahan had a lot of respect. Guys looked up to him and had a good relationship. But with a guy like him [McDaniels], it's like with [Broncos assistant] Jeremy Bates -- exciting, enthusiasm. It's like what Mike Tomlin brings to Pittsburgh. He brings excitement to that team. It's good for our team. And I hope we respond to him."
Well Bly for someone who gave less than 100 percent this year and got torched just about every play, I’m glad you like your coach. Hopefully you get released, re-signed to the Lions, and you can go hang out with Frazier who will make you ride the bench for saying that McDaniels was the right one for the Denver job.
But in the end, maybe McDaniels can bring in the influence that Mike Tomlin has brought to the Steelers, relating to the players on a more personal level. We can only hope that no matter who the coach is, our playoff drought comes to an end.
P.S. I was one of the few fans who Wanted Shanahan Fired.
8 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Henry Gula 5 months ago
I'm going to have to disagree with you. I'm glad that McDaniels is being brought in, you saw what he did with New England last year. He had about the kind of offensive talent that the Broncos will have next season, with Jay Cutler showing tremendous potential. McDaniels will definitely develop that potential to make our offense the best in the NFL. And defensively, Nolan was always a very respected man in San Francisco, and he has been in the league for a while. A veteran with a defensive background is exactly what was needed, and that's what they got. Instead of talking about why they should have gone for Frazier, just do some research on McDaniels and Nolan and see what you think then.
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Ben Hundley 5 months ago
Thanks for you comment.
I understand that what McDaniels has done the past couple years in New England is remarkable but they didn't win just because of their offense. They were good on both sides of the ball and I feel that a defensive minded coach could help out more. Nolan would be a good D-Coordinator as would Capers, but the focus of the team this year needs to be fixing the Defense. The offense is already in great shape.
I will say however that should McDaniels pan out, he will be able to grow as a coach side by side or young offense and soon to be young Defense after we (hopefully) have a couple good drafts for defense this offseason and next.
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Ben Hundley 5 months ago
And also if I was Frazier lol, I would much rather be the D-Coordinator for the Broncos then the head coach for the Lions or Rams. I dont care how much money it is, I'd want to be on a winning team. (I figure he will stay with the Vikes)
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Henry Gula 5 months ago
Haha yeah, or even sign up to be an assistant. If the guy likes winning, either stay in Minnesota and wait for better jobs next year or join up with a good team. I wouldn't want to go anywhere near St.Louis or Detroit.
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C Smith 5 months ago
Ben, I am right there with you: I WANTED Shanahan fired. I have two year old emails and more recent facebook postings to prove it. I love you Broncos, but was tired of Shanny. I hope Bowlen knows what he is doing. I hear he doesn't want to hire a GM, now? Is he crazy?
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Danny Maynes 5 months ago
I totally agree with Bowlen's decision on McDaniels. It's not about feelings here, so drop the whole act of feeling bad for Frazier. Hiring McDaniels is NOT a "hip, young" move - it was a smart move! Saying that hiring him 'cause it looks cool and he's young and trendy is simply ignorance and foolish to say the least.
And here's the deal on not hiring a defensively minded coach: It is not a bad thing! Just because Shanny was offensively minded and sucked at creating a D that could slow anyone down does not mean that any other coach who is offensively minded is going to suck at defense! That's just stupid to think that, and I see a bunch of people doing that exact thing! Our defense will surely improve in a measurable way - so stop worrying. McDaniels is a GREAT pick.
(Hey, 'C' - I don't think you should get too worried about the GM thing. Bowlen IS looking for a GM last I heard.)
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C Smith 5 months ago
Hey Danny, check out the AP article posted on ESPN.com. At the end of the article, it states that Bowlen has changed his mind and will not be hiring a GM.
I can live with the risk of hiring a 32 year old coach, because it sounds like he is bright and energetic. But I felt the problem with the Broncos over the past decade was with the GM, not with the head coach (both were Shanahan, of course). The Broncos need a strong "football" presence overseeing the head coach, especially in personnel decisions. Bowlen admits he isn't that presence, so I think he needs to hire someone to fill it. I would start with John Elway, but of course there are others out there.
McDaniels might be a great coach, but I seriously doubt he is ready to deal with all aspects of being a head coach immediately. A good GM would help.
GO BRONCOS!!!!
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Ben Hundley 5 months ago
A GM is a MUST. I'll be more than willing to jump on the McDaniels bandwagon if I must. But a young coach such as him needs someone overseeing operations. He's going to have so much going on as a new coach, the last thing he has time for is trying worrying about GM operations. Hopefully we can pull in Scott Pioli. He's a good GM option with ties to McDaniels & I don't want to see him with the Chiefs.
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