A Mile High Change: An In-Depth Look at Josh McDaniels' Rebuilt Coaching Staff

In late December, Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen made the move that shocked Bronco nation: He fired longtime head coach Mike Shanahan, and nearly all of his staff.

While Bronco fans were taken aback, there was no doubt that a change was needed in the Mile High City. So Bowlen went out, and after seven interviews of NFL assistants, he got his man.

On Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009, the Denver Broncos hired former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their head coach. At 32-years old, McDaniels became the youngest head coach in Denver Broncos history, and he wasted no time in putting together the group of mentors that he feels are best fit to lead the Broncos back to the Super Bowl.

Where they belong.

He started by adding longtime defensive guru Mike Nolan, former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, as defensive coordinator. Nolan is known in Denver for coaching the Broncos' linebackers back in the Dan Reeves days, where he got his first crack at the NFL. 

With the Broncos, Nolan made it to two Super Bowls, and coached a linebacking group that featured studs Karl Mecklenberg and Simon Fletcher. With the current Broncos, Nolan's 3-4 based defensive scheme will feature a group of very quick linebackers in D.J. Williams, Jamie Winborn, Wesley Woodyard, Spencer Larsen, Jarvis Moss, and Boss Bailey.

Coaching the group of talented-but-young linebackers will be a former Raiders linebackers coach Don Martindale.

Martindale has 23 years of coaching experience, making him one of the most seasoned coaches on Denver's staff. The former Denver rival will inherit a solid group of young linebackers that he will try to morph into some of the top ballhawking players in the league as he did in his time with Oakland. 

Last year, linebackers Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison led the Raiders in interceptions at the LB position.

Denver hopes they can increase their amount of forced turnovers on defense, and McDaniels hired former Washington Huskies defensive coordinator Ed Donatell to coach the Broncos' defensive backs. 

Donatell has been a defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers, as well as a defensive assistant for the New York Jets. He inherits a group of Broncos cornerbacks and safeties that massively underachieved in 2008. 

If my memory serves me right, Dre' Bly, Champ Bailey, and Josh Barrett were the only Denver defensive backs that recorded interceptions in 2008.

A large reason for Denver's woes in the defensive backfield were because of a lack of pressure up front from the defensive line. To fix that problem, McDaniels hired former Chargers defensive line coach Wayne Nunnely. 

Nunnely was with the Chargers for 12 years, and has been a football coach since 1975.  He will be a very important factor in developing the correct players to fit a 3-4 scheme with the Broncos.

On the other side of the line, the Broncos stayed with what they knew, and named former offensive coordinator Rick Dennison offensive line coach. Dennison was a linebacker in his playing days with the Broncos, and has since become a very successful offensive coach in Denver.

The only other Broncos coach that was retained from Shanahan's staff is longtime fan favorite and running back genius Bobby Turner. Turner is arguably one of the most successful running backs coaches in history, and he has been with the Broncos since 1995.

Coordinating Denver's young and potent offense will be former Carolina Panthers quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy. At only 36 years of age, McCoy already has nine years of NFL experience under his belt. He and McDaniels will form a very good duo to help develop Denver's young quarterback Jay Cutler.

Also on the offensive side of the ball will be two new faces, who will serve as offensive assistants.  28-year old Ben McDaniels, brother of Josh, will provide a young offensive mind to help with his area of expertise, the quarterbacks.

McDaniels is formerly a quarterbacks coach at Massillon High School in Massillon, OH. He was a quarterback at Kent State and has been a graduate assistant for the Minnesota Gophers' football team as well as a wide receiver and defensive backs coach.

Also tutoring the offense will be 32-year old Jay Rodgers, a former Iowa State wide receivers coach. Rodgers will be starting his NFL career with the Broncos and has experience coaching quarterbacks and receivers at the college level.

The official coach of the wide receivers is Adam Gase, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. Gase spent six years with the Lions as a quarterbacks coach and offensive assistant, and last year as an offensive assistant with Mike Martz on San Francisco's offense. Gase also has experience as a scout.

Last, but certainly not least, McDaniels hired former Kansas City Chiefs special teams assistant Mike Priefer as special teams coordinator. Priefer got his first NFL coaching job in 2002 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and has spent the last three seasons with the Chiefs.

Denver's coaching staff is slowly becoming one of the more intriguing in the NFL. There is a great mix of youth and experience, as well as some very bright minds in various areas of expertise.

It's obvious that McDaniels has a strong focus on adapting the defense to a 3-4, while the offensive players will be getting tutelage from a barrage of young coaches, old and new.

This staff has me really excited for 2009, and especially to see the adaptations this team makes in the front office.