Josh McDaniels: Team Killer

Every since the day Denver fired Mike Shanahan, I’ve been miserable knowing that Shanahan would ultimately be hired by another team that would be more than happy to have him. . . . You’re Welcome Washington!

The fact that Josh McDaniels actually has a job coaching professional football is a travesty because he’s a complete and total fraud.

I have stood by the theory that he’s nothing more than a gopher/spy implanted by Bill Belichick to destroy the Denver Broncos’ franchise from within and now, there’s more than enough proof to incriminate him as such. The following is not just my take on the job McDaniels is doing or NOT doing, it is a collection of very unfortunate events that have all transpired under the McDaniels’ Regime.

January 11, 2009 - The Denver Broncos named McDaniels their head coach.

McDaniels signed a four-year, $8 million contract, as their head coach in a press conference one day later. McDaniels’ tenure with the Broncos was marred early on by a controversy involving an alleged trade offer from the New England Patriots involving the team’s Pro-Bowl quarterback, Jay Cutler. According to McDaniels on an appearance on ESPN’s Outside The Lines he merely “listened to a phone call.” It would later be revealed that he attempted to acquire his former quarterback Matt Cassel who he had coached in New England just the previous year.

March 9, 2009 - A conference call between McDaniels, team owner Pat Bowlen, and Jay Cutler not only failed to resolve the issues but only made things worse.

The conference call feature Josh McDaniels lying about the failed attempt at trading for Matt Cassel, who has been a disappointment in Kansas City, and McDaniels apparently showed his absolute maturity by having a shouting match w/ the franchise QB. It’s this last failure at communication that is believed to be the last straw between to two, as Jay Cutler put one of his multiple Denver homes up for sale the next week.

April 2, 2009 - The Broncos traded Jay Cutler and a 2009 fifth-round draft pick to the Chicago Bears for QB Kyle Orton, first- and third-round picks in 2009 and a first-round pick in 2010.

In a move that would prove to change the Denver franchise forever, McDaniels sent Cutler packing but received two 1st round draft picks, one 3rd rounder, and Kyle “Neck-Beard” Orton in return. Denver’s offense would go from 2nd in the entire NFL behind only the Saints in 2008, to 15th overall last season.

April 25, 2009 - The Broncos trade their 2010 First Round Pick for CB Alphonso Smith.

In his infinite wisdom, Josh McDaniels traded one of Denver’s 2010 first-round selections to Seattle for the Seahawks’ second-round pick (37th overall) to select Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith. Smith was largely ineffective and had to be replace by aging veteran Ty Law(36), who has already been re-signed, in nickle and dime packages. The Seattle Seahawks recently turned around in this year’s draft to use the pick acquired from the Broncos to select playmaking safety Earl Thomas from Texas 15th overall.

April 26, 2009 - The Broncos traded a 2010 third-round pick and a 2009 third round pick to acquire TE Richard Quinn.

Denver packaged the third-rounder from the Bears with their third-round pick in a draft-day trade with Pittsburgh that gave the Broncos the 64th overall pick. The Broncos selected TE Richard Quinn who caught 12 career passes as a collegiate in three years at North Carolina. The Steelers would late use the third-round pick Denver got from Chicago to select receiver Mike Wallace, who ended up making an immediate impact as a deep threat his rookie year.

January 3, 2010 - Josh McDaniels deactivated star receiver Brandon Marshall for the last game of the season, with a potential playoff spot hanging in the balance.

In the last game of the 2009 season, McDaniels and the Broncos still had a potential playoff berth on the line, but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 44-24, Denver’s third straight home loss to a division foe. Controversy surrounded McDaniels for his benching of star receiver Brandon Marshall for the game, viewed by some as a crucial mistake resulting in missing out on post season contention.

January 18, 2010 - Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan Resigns from the Team.

In yet another head scratching move, Broncos defensive coordinator “Mike Nolan and Josh McDaniels decided to part ways” as the reports read. Not only was Nolan largely responsible for the team’s successful transition from the 4-3 to the 3-4, but he helped transform the defense from the 29th-ranked in 2008 to seventh overall in 2009. Fewer than 24 hours after splitting from the Denver Broncos, Mike Nolan was hired by Bill Parcells to be the Miami Dolphins new defensive coordinator.

April 14, 2010 - The Broncos agreed to trade Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2010 second-round pick and a 2011 second-round pick.

Brandon Marshall’s tenure in Denver had been marked by controversy, but his 2010 season was perhaps his most difficult to endure. He was suspended by the team during the preseason last year after he acted inappropriately at a preseason workout and his deactivation for week 17 was nothing more than an injury that Josh McDaniels blew out of proportion. The move really helps to shed a little light on the fact that McDaniels has no problem cutting off his own nose just to spite his face.

April 22, 2010 - Denver selects WR Demaryius Thomas with the 22nd overall pick.

It was a bit of a surprise that the Broncos passed on Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant to select Thomas, who isn’t even close to Bryant on a playing scale. After trading away star WR Brandon Marshall, the belief is that McDaniels didn’t want another wide receiver with off-field questions which is why Thomas may have made more sense than Bryant at the time. (There isn’t a doubt in my mind that Dez Bryant will be a phenomenal player and a future all-pro at the WR position.)

April 22, 2010 - Denver trades up back into the first round to select QB Tim Tebow with the 25th overall pick.

Denver traded away a second, third, and fourth round draft pick in order to move up and select the former Heisman trophy winner from Florida. The worst part about this selection is the fact that Tebow won’t get on the field until 2011 and when he gets on the field, he’ll be FAR from a finished product. There were a number of players that the Broncos passed on in order to select Tebow and the fact that he’s a complete project really shows you how clueless Josh McDaniels really is.

The sad part about what’s happening in Denver is that the worst is yet to come. Not only is Pat Bowlen a very patient owner, but he’s going to let Josh McDaniels stand by the Tim Tebow experiment for at least the next two years. Meaning, he’ll be around to screw up another draft and make terrible trades, coupled with poor personal moves.

I don’t think the Denver Broncos could spiral downward any faster if we were greased up with crisco, but that won’t stop this gopher from finding yet another way to set the Broncos back even further than when he arrived. It’s not too difficult to imagine how things will play out in the future either. After McDaniels is fired, he’ll get a job with the Patriots and his old boss will thank him for making it a 31 team contest instead of 32 because the Broncos will be out of playoff contention for quite some time thanks to Bill Belichick and his lop-sided version of “playing by the rules”.

Thanks a ton for reading and please bang out some feedback or comments below. You can also e-mail me questions, comments, and even complaints to [e-mail]