By Julie Cudney
The Denver Broncos have ended their search for their 12th head coach and named New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the position. The search started after the Broncos fired longtime coach Mike Shanahan after finishing the 2008 season 8-8. This record also came after the Broncos seemingly had their division won with four games left in the seasons. With four straight losses to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Carolina Panthers, the Buffalo Bills and the San Diego Chargers, the Broncos saw their post season hopes slip away, and along with it went the job of Shanahan. During his time with the Broncos, Shanahan led the team to two Super Bowl victories and multiple playoff appearances, but the results haven't been so stellar as of late. Along with McDaniels, Mike Nolan was named the Broncos next defensive coordinator.
The 32-year-old McDaniels may seem young for a head coach as some of his players may be older than him, but that doesn't mean he is scarce on experience. Before becoming a coach, McDaniels was a quarterback and wide receiver for John Carroll University. Soon after graduation, he became a graduate assistant at Michigan State University under coach Nick Saban. He joined the Patriots in 2001 as a personnel assistant. The next year, his skills had earned him a promotion to coaching assistant. He was moved to quarterbacks coach in 2004, working with star quarterback Tom Brady to his best passer rating yet of his career. The next year, he helped Brady improve on his career-best yardage. In 2006, he took on offensive coordinator duties along with continuing his position as quarterbacks coach. McDaniels was key in Brady's 50 touchdown passes in 2007. He faced an even greater challenge in the 2008 season when Brady went down with a season-ending injury, and McDaniels had to groom backup Mat Cassel as the starter. Unlike other departures from the Patriots, McDaniels left with a glowing recommendation from coach Bill Belichick.
Nolan was previously in the news when he was fired midway through this season as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and replaced by Mike Singletary. Nolan is actually no stranger to the Broncos as he was the linebackers coach under Dan Reeves. Prior to the NFL, he coached at the University of Oregon, Stanford, Rice and Louisiana State. After the Broncos, he started a long line of defensive coordinator positions with the New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens before becoming the Niners head coach in 2005. He was also the wide receivers coach for one year, 2001, for the Ravens.
Arguably, Nolan's job could be even tougher than McDaniels. Although the offense fared rather well even in the more mediocre seasons, the defense has been near or at the league's bottom. As soon as the new general manager is in place, it is likely that the Broncos will be looking toward both the draft and free agency to bolster their defensive positions. Be there next season with Denver Broncos tickets from http://www.stubhub.com/denver-broncos-tickets.
This article was written by Julie Cudney and is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells tickets to sporting events, concerts and theater productions. Go to StubHub for Denver Broncos tickets.
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