KRIEGER: 'Wise' McDaniels bowls over Bowlen

By Dave Krieger, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 12, 2009 at 10:18 p.m.

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Barry Gutierrez © The Rocky

New Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, left, jokes around with owner Pat Bowlen before the two posed for picturing during Monday's press conference.

First of all, he's got a great haircut. You may not think that's important, but I do. The man clearly has taste.

Second, he speaks in complete sentences. Again, this might not matter to you, but as someone who tries to understand and convey what football coaches think, I can tell you it's extremely unusual. I've come to believe there's a correlation between coherence of thought and coherence of speech.

"I like to believe I'm a teacher," Josh McDaniels said Monday during his introduction as the 12th Broncos head coach. "I like to believe I can communicate. That's a very important word for me. I think that goes from the top down."

This is more important than it might sound. If Mike Shanahan had one primary deficiency as the poobah of all he surveyed at Dove Valley, it was communication. Communication up to owner Pat Bowlen and communication down to subordinates and players.

Omnipotence can have that effect.

Coming from an organization run by Bill Belichick, who makes Shanahan look like Chatty Cathy, this is not something I expected from McDaniels. In fact, given that his main coaching influences are Belichick, Charlie Weis and Nick Saban, I figured he'd refuse to answer at least half the questions.

As it turns out, McDaniels' ability to communicate sealed the deal for Bowlen. Asked what impressed him most, Bowlen, who doesn't communicate nearly as well as his new coach, struggled to find the right word.

"A lot," he said. "There's a lot of things he said that I didn't expect him to be quite that . . . uh . . . as they say in Hawaiian, akamai, which means 'wise.' "

Clever, smart and intelligent are other translations, but wise is an interesting one for a 32-year-old. To put it simply, McDaniels bowled Bowlen over with his brain and his ability to communicate what it is thinking.

No matter how good a coach or communicator McDaniels turns out to be, the Broncos' recent troubles have had at least as much to do with talent, particularly defensive talent, as coaching. So let's get down to cases.

I asked McDaniels if he had discussed with Bowlen how much influence he will have in personnel decisions.

"I've met Jim Goodman and his staff in the personnel department," he said. "I think it's going to be a situation where we're going to collaborate. . . . "

And in cases where they differ?

"Hopefully, there's not many of those, but Jim would make the call if there's an issue in terms of personnel," McDaniels said.

I asked Bowlen if he intends to hire a general manager (Goodman's unwieldy title, which he held under Shanahan, is vice president of football operations/player personnel).

"I have no plans to hire anybody else," Bowlen said. "That's not to say I won't hire some other people on the football side of the organization. I don't have any plans to hire what you would call a general manager."

So your intention is that Jim Goodman will run your personnel department?

"That's correct."

So I asked Goodman how the personnel selection process will work now that Shanahan, who had the final say, is no longer around.

"I've sat by Mike Shanahan for years and aided him," he said. "It's like Josh said. Our decision making will be after much discussion with Josh, our personnel people, our scouts, his coaches, his coordinators. So it won't be just me saying, 'We're going to take that one. I like the way he looks.' It doesn't work like that. It goes through a process and it's real easy when you go through that process and you arrive at the player."

OK, fine, but how will things change to avoid what look like wasted premium draft picks in 2007 devoted to defensive linemen Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder?

"They're young players and they've been hurt on and off, so I'm not ready to give up on those guys yet," Goodman said.

OK, how about avoiding mistakes in free agency like Niko Koutouvides?

"I'd rather not go there," Goodman said. "I'd rather say I'm excited about working with Josh and implementing our system with what he's done in the past and looking forward to going forward."

No matter how good Mike Nolan might be as a defensive coordinator, he's not going to make the 29th-ranked defense elite by changing the scheme. Shanahan went through five coordinators and at least that many schemes. This is about talent.

Even if McDaniels doesn't have final say, Bowlen is clearly counting on his input, and Goodman's, and the absence of Shanahan's, to improve the selection process.

So we'll see if it does.

Did the Broncos owner get the "10" he was looking for in a head coach?

"Ask me in a year or so," he said.

That's all he's giving him?

"We'll know," Bowlen said.

If he has the akamai Bowlen says he has, we will, too.

• January 12, 2009

  11:10 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  MATTP1 writes:

  Last years draft was great,CLADY / ROYAL /HILLIS /LARSON/WOODYARD.If we can do this again this year mostly defense we will be in good shape.If Josh can improve our Red Zone offense and we can get a nose tackle we could be a good 3/4.We have good LBs DJ / WINBORN / LARSON /.Put WOODYARD at SS CHAMP at FS and DUMERVILLE as the other LB. I'm excited GO BRONCS

• January 12, 2009

  11:34 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  csloan999 writes:

  Come on Josh...get a REAL orange tie! None of this peach-colored nonsense...

• January 13, 2009

  4:43 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  flybys writes:

  The Broncos are swinging for the fences with the out-of-the-box hire of Josh McDaniels. He appears to be, with his experience, to be high risk-high reward. Owner Pat Bowlen will eventually look like a world-class speculator who beat most other franchises to the punch in hiring McDaniels or he will come off as foolish for passing on the likes of Leslie Frazier and Steve Spagnuolo.

  Not hiring a general manager might also come back to haunt him.

  McDaniels' intelligence is a no doubter and his resume in New England is impeccable and if you have Bill Belichick speak glowingly of you then you must really be something special.

  The question here is the one Dave Krieger poses -- talent procurement. This franchise's attempt at acquiring quality defensive personnel has been putrid. If it can draft well on both sides of the ball consistently, the potential is there for Denver to again become a playoff team and a force in the extended season.

  One big reminder -- Mike Nolan is a qualified defensive coach but not making a wide sweep for a defensive coordinator is a major and maybe critical mistake. The Broncos need a man at that position, along with the mentioned improvement at talent procurement, to give this franchise the tough-mindedness it has lacked, the kind of mentality that is transparent in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philly and New York (Giants).

  Why Bowlen refuses to consider poaching men from those summits is highly questionable.

  http://coloradosn.blogspot.com

• January 13, 2009

  7:35 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  hallandnash writes:

  flybys - how is Mike Nolan not a qualified DC ? He seemed to do pretty darn well with the Raven's defense after Marvin left.. enough to get him the SF job. He has experience as a head coach, which is going to help Josh - he's a great pick.

• January 13, 2009

  7:58 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jvill writes:

  flybys: Why Bowlen refuses to consider poaching men from those summits is highly questionable.

  Huh? Bowlen considered the DC from NY, a protege of the DC in Philly, and other like-minded, related defensive coaches. What's questionable?

• January 13, 2009

  8:42 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  discer writes:

  When was the last time Denver had a great defense?? It has been awhile. In fact when Bowlen hired Shanahan they surely did not have a great "D". In fact the defense could not be considered great during each of their Super Bowl winning years but at least they could get pressure on the QB and turnovers when needed. Atlanta ran a kickoff back for a score in that last Super Bowl.
  So if the Bronco's can get the defense to improve to the middle of the pack in the first year (no small feat) then they will have a chance to win more often next year.

• January 13, 2009

  10:07 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  buffsblg writes:

  Given that the Pats offense called by McDaniels destroyed the Broncos defense, he likely knows more about their flaws than we can even imagine and also likely knows that repairing it is a multi- year project. However, if the team can draft well and maybe pick up a couple of free agents, the defense can improve enough to allow the offense to score enough to win. I think that is the short term formula that McDaniels and Bowlen have planned. It could be fun to watch.

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