Josh McDaniels
Josh McDaniels (born April 22, 1976 in Barberton, Ohio) is the American football head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the New England Patriots. At the time of his hiring, McDaniels was the youngest head coach in any of the four major North American professional sports and the fifth-youngest NFL head coach ever, although less than a week later the Tampa Bay Buccaneers named the even-younger Raheem Morris as their head coach.[1]
Early years
McDaniels is the son of Thom McDaniels (often described as a "legend" of Ohio high school football).[2] Attending his father's practices during his youth has been credited with inspiring McDaniels to enter coaching.
Playing career
Recruited out of Canton McKinley High School by Greg Debeljak, McDaniels attended John Carroll University, where he played football, primarily as a wide receiver, from 1995 to 1998.[2] Though a quarterback in high school, he was beaten at that position at John Carroll by Nick Caserio, who joined the Patriots staff in 2001 (the same year as McDaniels), was the Patriots' wide receiver coach in 2007. His other teammates included London Fletcher, now a linebacker for the Washington Redskins, and Brian Polian, the special teams coach at Notre Dame.
Coaching career
College
McDaniels began his coaching career as a senior graduate assistant at Michigan State University from 1999 to 2000 under Nick Saban, parlaying his dad's friendship with Saban.[3]
NFL
New England Patriots
McDaniels joined the Patriots in 2001 as a personnel assistant. From 2002 to 2003, he served as a defensive coaching assistant for the team, working with the defensive backs in 2003. In 2004, he became the team's quarterbacks coach. After offensive coordinator Charlie Weis left the team following the 2004 season, the Patriots did not name an offensive coordinator for the 2005 season. According to The New York Times, in 2008, it was McDaniels who called the offensive plays for the 2005 season, although suggestions to that effect were made in 2005.[2][4] After the season, McDaniels was officially promoted to offensive coordinator, while retaining his responsibilities coaching the team's quarterbacks.
In the 2007 NFL season, with McDaniels at the helm of the offense, the Patriots set NFL records, scoring 75 touchdowns (67 on offense, 50 passing and 17 rushing) and 589 points, leading to rumors that McDaniels might leave the Patriots for a head coaching job.[5] McDaniels withdrew his name from consideration, however, during the Patriots' January 2008 playoff run.
In the 2008 NFL season, McDaniels led the offense to an 11-5 record with quarterback Matt Cassel, the only known NFL quarterback ever to start an NFL game without ever starting at quarterback in college. McDaniels' role in developing Cassel has been cited as one of his qualifications for head coaching jobs.
Denver Broncos
On January 11, 2009, ESPN, citing two NFL sources, reported that the Denver Broncos had named McDaniels their head coach, replacing Mike Shanahan.[6] The Broncos introduced McDaniels, who agreed to sign a four-year, $8 million contract, as their head coach in a press conference one day later.[7][8]
McDaniels' tenure with the Broncos was marred early on by a controversy involving a possible attempt to trade the team's young quarterback, Jay Cutler, in which Cutler would be sent to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Buccaneers would send a first round pick to the New England Patriots, and the Patriots would send Matt Cassel to the Broncos. On March 9, 2009, according to ESPN, a conference call involving McDaniels, team owner Pat Bowlen and Cutler failed to resolve the issues. Cutler said he didn't trust the coach and organization following the trade controversy.[9] On April 2, 2009, the Broncos traded Cutler and a 2009 fifth-round draft pick (Johnny Knox) to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Kyle Orton, first-round picks in 2009 (Robert Ayers) and 2010, along with a third-round pick in 2009, which was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
McDaniels also faced criticism from commentators and fans around his actions during the 2009 NFL Draft. With their 12th Overall pick in the draft, they drafted running back Knowshon Moreno, a surprising and curious move as the Broncos had signed three other running backs in J.J. Arrington, Correll Buckhalter and LaMont Jordan in free agency. Also, McDaniels traded away their 2010 first round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for their selection in the second round to pick CB Alphonso Smith.
References
- ^ Youngest NFL Coaches (Modern Era)
- ^ a b c Battista, Judy (2008-01-30). "Coach Follows Dream to Football's Summit". New York Times. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Merrill, Elizabeth (April 29, 2009). "Josh McDaniels, the new coach of the Denver Broncos, has a definite Patriots way about him". ESPN.com.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ McDaniels role in focus Boston.com Reiss' Pieces. Accessed 29 September 2007.
- ^ Pats assistant Josh McDaniels likely to be candidate for head coaching jobs New York Daily News. Accessed 6 September 2008.
- ^ "Sources: Broncos to hire McDaniels". ESPN.com. 2009-01-11. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ "Broncos to Introduce McDaniels". DenverBroncos.com. 2009-01-12. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ Gasper, Christopher (2009-01-13). "McDaniels takes reins of Broncos". Boston.com. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
- ^ "Source: Jay Cutler's situation with Denver Broncos worsens". ESPN.
External links
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