Is Josh McDaniels Following the Pittsburgh Steelers Pattern?

The Denver Broncos sophomore coach raced his way up the NFL coaching ladder by virtue of his years under Bill Belichick in Foxboro, but he appears to be building his first team as head coach along the lines of the Pittsburgh Steelers under Bill Cowher.

His early tinkering reveals his long term intentions, and among the first significant moves he made were changing to a 3-4 defensive alignment and using his first premium draft pick on a running back.

More recently, he has duplicated the Steeler's huge veteran front three alignment via free agent acquisitions Williams, Green, and Bannen, along with adding several converted college defensive ends to his linebacking corps, in Robert Ayers, Jammie Kirlew, and Bruce Davis.

The secondary, likewise, has a solid veteran presence built around Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins. The one thing lacking is a Dick LeBeau to make chicken salad out of whatever ingredients are handed to him, but LeBeau is one of a kind.

On the offensive side of the ball, Josh has no one comparable to Tom Brady to light up the scoreboard via airmail, so he will have to devise a scheme that allows his quarterbacks to be game managers in the mold of the younger Ben Roethlisberger. Certainly the three on hand are capable of that role, with Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow perhaps having the potential to go beyond it.

But in the meanwhile, expect a ground based attack built around Knowshon Moreno and probably a training camp addition from among a bevy of proven runners who may be available at various times through trade or free agency.

The offensive line has impressive talent similar to the Steeler lines under Cowher when the team rode the Jerome Bettis bus. Even the most recent receiver acquisitions via the draft, tight end Richard Quinn and wideouts DeMaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, come with the reputation of being solid blockers.

So it looks like a grind-it-out offensive style complementing a very aggressive defense for the next couple of seasons at least. The one area where McDaniels has followed his mentor Belichick is in drafting and signing smart, high character individuals. That should go a long way to preventing the club from ending up in the situation Pittsburgh is at the moment.

Considering that the Patriots and Steelers have won half the Super Bowls over the past decade, it seems like a good hybrid model to follow.