McDaniels might look like kid, but Broncos new boss is all winner

By Lynn DeBruin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 12, 2009 at 10:47 p.m.

Text size  

• 13 Comments
• Email
• Print

Photo by Robert E. Klein / Associated Press/2007

As the Patriots' offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels worked closely with quarterback Tom Brady. McDaniels has had teachers with some impressive credentials in the NFL: He has learned at the side of coaches such as Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.

Photo by © Akron Beacon Journal

Thom McDaniels rode a wave of success - not to mention his players' shoulders - by beating rival Massillon three years in a row.

Photo by McDaniels Family / Special To The Rocky

Josh McDaniels, left, with his father and coach, Thom, and his brother Ben during Josh's playing days at Canton McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio. Thom became the winningest coach in the history of McKinley High School.

He grew up the son of a coach, attending two-a-day practices since he was 5, in a part of the country where football greats are immortalized and losses linger like gray skies and heavy snow.

Now the man who went to the same college as Don Shula and was schooled under Nick Saban and Bill Belichick will get his own chance to build a champion.

Those who know him say Josh McDaniels is ready to be coach of the Broncos, even if he looks like a kid who just stepped off a college campus.

"When you talk to him, you're thinking, 'This guy can't be more than 23, 24, 25 years old,' " said Tony DeCarlo, McDaniels' coach at John Carroll University in Cleveland. "He's young looking, but it's not the age that counts. It's the knowledge, the expertise and the fact that this guy is willing to prepare.

"He's going to be successful at whatever he does."

Though DeCarlo never coached with Shula, he heard the stories and said McDaniels comes from the same mold as the Hall of Famer.

"He reminds me of Shula, just the way he takes things on," DeCarlo said.

In addition to all the X's and O's, DeCarlo said there were all those whys.

"Like Shula, he had a million questions," DeCarlo said.

Only two weeks after firing Mike Shanahan, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen certainly is hoping McDaniels, a former Division III quarterback from Canton, Ohio, is the answer.

'Good play-caller'

He certainly made the right moves in New England, where, under his tutelage, Tom Brady threw for a record 50 touchdowns in 2007 and unheralded Matt Cassel guided the Patriots to an 11-5 record this season.

"He's a good play-caller," said Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher, who played on the same college team as McDaniels. "He skinned us up pretty good (in 2007). He's going to take advantage of what you do, create big plays. But I'm sure his footprint will be all over that team."

Insiders say McDaniels was hired because he reminded Bowlen of a "young Mike Shanahan." When the season opens in September, McDaniels will be the third-youngest coach to debut in the NFL, at 33 years, 144 days.

Merril Hoge, an ESPN analyst, remembers what it was like when Chuck Noll called it a career and a young unknown named Bill Cowher stepped in.

"At that first meeting, we all sat there and looked at him like, 'Good luck,' " Hoge said of the youthful Cowher.

There was a wait-and-see attitude in which Cowher had to prove himself - and he did when he called a fourth-down fake punt against the Houston Oilers, a momentous swing in a comeback win that launched a new era.

"Right there, we believed in him," Hoge said.

Fletcher said there's one big difference between Cowher and McDaniels.

"He has three Super Bowl rings," Fletcher said of McDaniels. "He knows what it takes."

Joshua, as his mother, Chris, calls McDaniels, grew up watching his father become the winningest coach at Canton McKinley High School.

He was first allowed on the sideline at age 4 and slept with a football as soon as he was old enough to hold one.

He would tag along at two- a-days, scouting trips and sometimes even film sessions - not unlike Belichick with his father, Steve, who was coach at the Naval Academy.

By the time he got to high school, McDaniels' football IQ was off the charts.

"Josh was like having a coach on the field," his father, Thom, said of Josh, who graduated fourth in his high school class and tops in his college class.

Greg Debeljak, who recruited McDaniels and coached him at John Carroll, said the learning only continued in college.

"Most of the time, when kids look at film, they look only at themselves," Debeljak told The New York Times last year. "Josh saw the big picture more than anybody else would we've ever had. Anybody that was around him knew that he was going to be a great coach."

From plastic to turf

But first he had to get out of the plastics business.

Huh?

That's right. For several months, after finishing as a graduate assistant at Michigan State under Saban, McDaniels took a side job until he figured out what to do with his life.

"Apparently, he was very good at what he did," his mom said of him earning $55,000 in 2000. "But the next thing we knew, he was leaving (after being hired to help with scouting in New England). He went from making a lot of money to (almost) no money."

Mom and Dad helped make his car payment, paid his insurance and gave him some spending money.

Now, McDaniels is the one cashing in.

"Thom always told them if you love the game, it will love you back," Chris McDaniels said. "We still love the game like no other."

But even she wonders if the experience Josh had in New England can ever be duplicated.

"We were at four Super Bowls. He has three rings," she said.

Through it all, her middle son always left with a smile on his face and came home with the same.

He was smiling again Monday as he joked about wearing a "hoodie" like Belichick on the Broncos sideline.

"He promised me he wouldn't cut the sleeves off, though," his mom said.

Belichick he is not.

"He's very engaging," said The Boston Globe's Mike Reiss, who has covered the Patriots since 1997. "He's very, very friendly. What I always respected about him is that he was always nice, but when it was time to get down to business, he got down to business. It was the perfect mix, like a John Harbaugh."

True to his roots

There's no question McDaniels' Canton roots are important to him.

"Football is next to nothing," McDaniels said Monday. "The people in Canton love this game. . . . It's where I learned to love the game."

Though he learned a lot from Belichick and Saban, he said he learned one of the most important things from his father.

"The one thing about my father I do take into this job every day is his passion," he said. "There's nothing about this game that's unimportant to him."

His father repeated the quote Monday night and said his son is ready for the task at hand.

The boy who was featured along with his father in Sports Illustrated 15 years ago is not unaccustomed to the spotlight.

"Football is almost like a religion (in Ohio)," Thom McDaniels said.

Much as it is in Denver with the Broncos.

"We always taught (our kids) that pressure is what you feel when you're unprepared. He won't be unprepared," the elder McDaniels said.

As for their new allegiance, it's clearly with the blue and orange - a team that handed Ohioans some of their most painful football memories, what with "The Drive" and "The Fumble" and a guy named John Elway.

"When you're a football coach, you have to be willing to change mascots, be flexible. I'm a big Broncos fans now. I've joined the legion," Thom McDaniels said.

• January 13, 2009

  3:37 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jmgswarman writes:

  Totally take your point Big Nuggets and thanks for the compliment Catrachomilla…Shanahan was not a great adjuster, but it was quite extraordinary how he could get Denver to jump out and I have to admit this season I actually thought the whole reason they went 8-8, not 4-12 was because of Shanahan’s coaching aptitude. Consider the 3 wins against NFC teams this year- even though the opposition were better teams...they had never seen a Shanahan offence before (or very rarely) and he disguises his plays so well (with three to four variations on a play which looks identical when the QB actually takes the snap) that the defence, regardless of it's physical ability, is simply outsmarted. Also against the Jets (an AFC team, but not one that sees Denver that often), Shanahan knew that Mangini would want to stop Cutler getting the ball to his wideouts, and, sure enough, Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal were double covered throughout. Mangini obviously is trying to force Denver into running the ball knowing that they have problems at running back...but Shanahan completely out-thinks him from the start, sees this coming a mile away and develops a game plan centered not around throwing to the wide receivers or running the ball at the edge, but around tight ends and his slot receiver running intermediate routs in the middle of the field. Sure enough, time and time again, Denver's tight ends make big plays down the field and at the end of the game Brandon Stokely ( the slot receiver...) catches the easiest of 36 yard touchdowns. Funnily enough, Oakland and Kansas City who are inferior teams, but see Shanahan offences time and time again, have a better chance of living with his wizardry, and when they get a handle on it, can go on to expose Denver's inexperience as a unit and defensive frailties.
  That said I honestly like the change, I really do, because something had gone wrong in the teams chemistry. We all know about the defense, but there was something more to it…a listlessness in the dressing room and, as you say Big Nuggets, a horrible tendency for the wheels to come off once the first half game plan had run it’s course. The offensive play-calling against Buffalo in the second half was terrible and you did get the sense then that Shanahan may have lost his grip. McDaniels must, must not do anything but refine what is already a seriously talented offence (a change of system would be disastrous) and everything must be done to give the defense more bite-be it bigger linemen, faster safeties, whatever. It is better players they need on that side of the ball, ultimately, it really is.

• January 13, 2009

  3:49 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jmgswarman writes:

  But to return to Shanahan quickly as a coach, you will not find a better preparation coach in the history of the league. And just as Bill Belicheks defensive game plan for the Giants Superbowl win against the Bills in 91 can be viewed in Canton, so should Shanahan’s offensive game plan for Superbowl XXXII when he literally outcoached Holmgren and brought Denver their first championship.

• January 13, 2009

  9:50 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  RightDownTheMiddle writes:

  jmgswarman......Shanny's championships were sweet.

  Problem is all the big games since. We've been trounced, embarrassed and obliterated in big games since. The only big win we've had since was against the Pats in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we laid an egg the following week.

  Shanny's inability to motivate our team to at least halfway show up in big games, coupled with our constant playing down to inferior teams is why he had to go. He simply wasn't motivating the team anymore....

• January 13, 2009

  10:27 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Rutabaga writes:

  I agree, Coach Shanahan had to go. He laid too many eggs. Boy, that last game against the Chargers was a gi-normous egg. He could of filled a least sixty McMuffins with that monster. I think Mr. Bowlen got real tired of eating eggs, even McMuffin eggs, which are pretty good for eggs, that is. I like Big Macs better. That's why I'm cheering extra loud for our new Coach. He's the Bronco's Big Mac, even if he looks sort of short and has a buzz cut. I'll bet lots of Bronco fans are going to be eating Big Macs and buzz cutting their hair by the time the preseason rolls around. I know I will...

• January 13, 2009

  10:38 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  OrangeCrusher writes:

  jmgswarman....It dosen't make any sense for a great OC to get a HC job and not bring in his own system. McDaniels said he will call the plays. I'm sure his is not going to call plays from the old broncos playbook? The intire Offense will have to learn McDaniels system.

• January 13, 2009

  11:20 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jmgswarman writes:

  Orange crusher i'm telling you now, if the Broncos want genuine results in the near future, McDaniels will stick with the old system and work with Bates, not try and change things. If McDaniels is the whizz kid everyone says he is, then it will take him a month to understand what the Broncos do on offence, and how he can bring his expertise to refine and improve if further. Fine for him to call the plays, but I sure hope he respects Bates and wants to work with him. I say this for one reason: Jay Cutler.

  Cutler progressed last year from a promising youngster to an out and out potential star. Talent wise he has an almost unlimited upside and he is now comfortable in a system that the Broncos can elevate into an absolute offensive juggernaut. What's more, they are nearly there already, having as bad a D as Denver had this year actually affects the offence's capacity for production when you factor in things like field position, lack of turnovers etc...Also it is amazing what Denver did with the offence considering they lost running back after running back this season. The offence is a sleeping giant as it is...and as Shanahan has said...the new head coach would be crazy to tinker with the offensive staff too much.

  McDaniels must not just show pure coaching aptitude but shrewdness as well. If it ain't broke...for chr*st sake don't fix it. Get everyone healthy, reassure your offensive coaching staff that you love what they already do and just want to help them do it even better. Then spend the off season thinking long deep and hard about how you are going to make that horrible defence competetive again. If he succeeds in fixing that D, believe me, the offence will take care of itself.

  Jay cutler is without question the most talented QB in the NFL.

• January 13, 2009

  1:24 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Broncofan_in_Boston writes:

  You are both probably right to some degree.

  If you remember, Denver studied the Pats offense quite a bit this past offseason. I'm guessing they already have quite a few of the concepts in their offense.

  Denver spread it out in a lot of games this year.

  Now, what will happen with the coaches? I don't know. We're all just guessing right now.

  We'll get a good idea of McD's plans when we learn the fate of Bates, Dennison, Fisch and Turner.

• January 13, 2009

  2:26 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  RedneckBronco writes:

  Broncos hire Nolan as defensive coordinator
  Posted: Adam Schefter | Adam Schefter | Tags: Denver Broncos, Mike Nolan

  Any questions about who would be Denver’s defensive coordinator now can be officially dismissed. The Broncos hired former 49ers coach Mike Nolan on Tuesday and gave him a two-year contract. Nolan returns to the Broncos franchise he worked for from 1987-1992.

• January 13, 2009

  2:40 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  OrangeCrusher writes:

  Denver already runs a similar system to New England. The only thing Cutler and company will need to learn is pretty much just new terminology, and how to take orders from a new boss.

  Jeremy Bates should be promoted to (quarterbacks buddie) it's a new position created just to make Jay feel comfortable...hehe

• January 13, 2009

  2:41 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  JohnnyBallgame writes:

  It is now the McDaniels era, and it would be nice to keep some of the Denver Assitants, but I would rather McDaniels call the plays and run the show than Bates calling plays, I think Bates is a good coach but we need to let McDaniels do his work and SUPPORT HIM!!! Mcdaniels is a great play called and will get us TD's not FG's as Bates and Cutler never got it going in the red zone like the pats always do. I am pumped with Josh and the enthusiasm he will bring that we have lacked as a team, good luck Josh and welcome to Denver.

  Go Broncos!!!

• January 13, 2009

  4:05 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  yobeach writes:

  McDaniels will be just what we need. The Patriots usually beat you by having their offense win the time of possession game. They'd always surprise you with the 3rd down call to get the first down. Josh was calling the plays. Just as Mike Shanahan learned from the 49ers organization, Josh has been taught in the Patriots format. It's about bringing in the right players, doing the little things correctly over and over and keeping the offense on the field. This wears the defense down and the wins pile up. Get ready Denver, this new coach is for real!

• January 13, 2009

  11:49 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  gahoaglund writes:

  Bates isn't any hero folks, he's a QB coach....that's all. He doesn't design the plays OR script them, he just calls them. If he goes, he goes....Trust me, it won't matter.

• January 14, 2009

  12:50 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Costner writes:

  So Josh has slept with a football since he was old enough to hold one.
  I like that.

  And is he single??
  ((( hearty smiles)))))
  May just be the most eligible bachelor of the Rocky Mountains.

Featured

• DNC in Denver

  

  Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

• The Crevasse

  

  A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.

• Deadly denial

  

  Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.

• Final Salute

  

  The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.

• 'Colorado's burning'

  

  Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.

• Columbine shootings

  

  Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.

• The Crossing

  

  Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.

• Osveli's journey

  

  Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.

• Wake for an Indian warrior

  

  Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.