Fan reaction: Josh McDaniels coached himself out of the league

If Josh McDaniels had still been employed when this went to print ether, it would have been because Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen couldn't see the wisdom of having three head coaches on his payroll at the same time, and firing McDaniels would necessitate a third guy receiving checks embossed with Bowlen's signature.

That was the only thing keeping McDaniels' name on the head coach's office door, because it wasn't his ability to actually, you know, coach. Apparently, Bowlen is prepared to part with a bit more coin of the realm because McDaniels is out, and rightfully so. Rarely has a coach given so much cause for termination without mitigation, but McDaniels has been in a free-fall for the better part of 18 months.

I could mention Denver's utter failure to be prepared for games this season. I could go on and on about how the Oakland Raiders had no business scoring 59 points at Invesco Field this season, or that the Raiders had no business scoring 59 points in any two games against the Broncos in any given season, but that would be missing the forest for the trees. I will mention that we've seen this before.

Last season, with a playoff berth at stake, McDaniels' 8-7 Broncos let the Kansas City Chiefs (record: 4-11 going into that game) come into Invesco Field and hang 44 points on them. The Chefs were already packed for the off-season and all the Broncos had to do was rock them to sleep. Instead, the Broncos imploded like something on Mythbusters.

I could mention how last season's 6-0 start gave way to a 2-8 finish, including an 8-4 record that ultimately became 8-8 (yup, that would be a four-game furball the Broncos coughed up last season).

I could talk about this team's utter failure to compete this season; it's not just that the record is abysmally below .500, or that the aforementioned Raiders hung that aforementioned 59 on the Broncos (and no, I'm not likely to be over that anytime soon), but that the St. Louis Rams, helmed by a rookie quarterback, boldly went into Denver, scored 36, and left with a win.

I could talk about this team's penchant for four-game losing streaks. For the mathematically-challenged, here's the point: there are only 16 games in a season. A four-game losing streak is a full quarter of the season, flushed away. Teams that can lose four different games in a row to four different opponents have the kind of issues that would prevent them from going, say, 11-1 or 10-2 over the rest of their schedule. I could say that this team, under McDaniels' mismanagement, has managed a four-game choke point in each of his first two seasons.

I could mention the fact that he seems to be no great judge of talent. Sure, he might have had one big-time apologist out there in Sports Illustrated's Peter King, but, still, if he were any good at evaluating players, he would not have let his GM run roughshod over him. What might this team look like with Jay Cutler at quarterback, Brandon Marshall at wide receiver, and Peyton Hillis at running back? It's worth noting that all three were on the roster when Mike Shanahan finally got the hook in '08. It's worth noting that all three would be significant upgrades over the guys currently playing their positions in Denver right now.

I almost (almost!) get the Brandon Marshall thing, except for the fact that McDaniels had to big-time Marshall right when the Broncos needed Marshall the most. I absolutely do not get the Jay Cutler thing; he doesn't have to like the new offense, but, as long as he's under contract, he gets to run that offense or he gets to sell real estate with a family member. For crying out loud, the Broncos drafted him to be what he currently is for the Bears, and it's not like they couldn't see it coming (there is that whole 4,000 yard/Pro Bowl season on his resume...as a Bronco...but I digress).

But Peyton Hillis?

It ain't bad enough that Hillis is exactly the running back that the Broncos currently lack. It's not nearly enough that he gives his current Cleveland Browns a physical attitude, that he runs downhill, through tacklers.

It's the draft picks that went with Hillis to Cleveland. That's the real salt in the wound. Broncos fans of a certain age might remember when John Elway personally kept Cleveland from advancing any further than a date with Denver in the playoffs. Now the resurgent Browns will get Denver's bottom-feeding picks as well, and who knows what they might turn out to be.

Meanwhile, the Brady Quinn era is off to a bang in Denver...

No, it's not any of these things. It's all of them, taken together. That stuff with the video tape? It doesn't matter nearly as much as another sub-.500 season does. It doesn't matter nearly as much as watching former Broncos star for other teams. Every touchdown pass Jay Cutler throws, and every bulldozing yard that Peyton Hillis gains hurts just that much more than the 96 points the Donkeys gave up to a pair of teams sitting at 5-6 respectively.

It's the fact that every team in the division has made at least two steps forward while Denver has taken two steps backward. It's the fact that Kansas City, an also-ran last season, has the look of a playoff contender in Todd Haley's second season. It's that San Diego is making their traditional late season push. It's that even the Raiders look like they have a pulse.

It's the fact that Kyle Orton's numbers are Elway-esque...but the record is Steve Ramsey-esque.

It's the fact that this franchise has had exactly five losing seasons since Dan Reeves first wore the big boy headset, one of which will belong to McDaniels. That, in itself, isn't a crime, but the fact that he's likely to add to that total in the very near future is actionable according to the locals.

This is what you get for chasing after Bill Belichick assistants. The Browns once had Romeo Crennel, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame once had Charlie Weis, and the Broncos currently have Josh McDaniels, and all have been resounding failures as head coaches. When will people figure out that Belichick sheds assistants like a snake sheds skins?

I get Pat Bowlen wanting to get the 'next big thing,' after parting ways with Mike Shanahan, but this time the next big thing gutted his franchise. It sez so right here that the next next big thing will be a wallet-buster because I seriously doubt that Bowlen will go the untested coordinator route again, not after this nightmare.

No, the next next big thing has got to be a guy that comes with some championship cachet, the kind of guy that can energize both the team and the fan base. A couple of guys like that come to mind...if Bowlen is willing to do cut another big check.

As for Josh McDaniels, there's not a lot of resume-polishing he can do right now, not when it was national news that he got a vote of confidence that was rescinded within hours of its issuance. Given this team's total collapse, and the way that the New England Patriots have continued to score without him, he is looking more and more like one of Belichick's sock puppets. At best, he'll end up mouthing the plays that the stronger head coach tells him to run; at worst, given the NFL's labor uncertainty, he ends up as the head coach at a nameless BCS-type bottom-feeder.

But his name won't be on the head coach's office door in the NFL for a long, long time...if ever.