So the Broncos fired Coach McDaniels. Not a huge surprise that he would be fired, but kind of surprising that he was fired mid-season. I think that he could have success in the future as a head coach, but he was in way over his head in Denver.
Like I have said before, the coaching hasn't been the issue in Denver. It is the player decisions. The NFL has become too complicated for one person to handle the coaching and personnel decisions - especially a 34 year old rookie head coach. Owner Pat Bowlen needs to hire a solid General Manager first and foremost.
I have detailed my issues with the Broncos handling of the draft and roster on this blog many times. Shanahan left the Broncos with a solid offense, and it was the defense that led to his firing. Under the McDaniels regime, the Broncos only used 7 of their 19 draft picks on defensive players, and only two of those were for defensive lineman. I am tempted to discuss all of the other terrible roster moves that McDaniels made, but I really don't have the time to cover it right now.
So, who should the Broncos hire? There are loads of names being floated around right now, such as former coaches Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, or a college coach such as Troy Calhoun, or maybe a NFL coach who is still coaching (Jeff Fisher or John Fox). If the Broncos want to hold on to all of the time and money they have already put into Tebow, they should hire Jon Gruden. Before last year's draft, ESPN did a feature with Gruden each of the top QBs in the draft (Bradford, McCoy, Claussen, and Tebow). Gruden had the biggest mancrush on Tebow that I have ever seen. At one point, the expression on his face looked as though he just jizzed in his pants while watching Tebow.
But, I don't think that the Broncos should throw all their chips in Tebows basket. Hire the right coach and GM, and if Tebow is good enough to be a QB in the NFL, he will become one. There are far bigger issues on the defense and offensive line that the Broncos need to tackle first.
