Q&A: Josh McDaniels has hand in all the Broncos' plans

[baja]

Today's questions about the Broncos come from Papi. Send your questions via e-mail to jlegwold@denverpost.com.
Q: How do you and other teams view our coordinators? Are they highly respected? Some of the best at what they do? The way this team is playing, they don't seem to be getting better. And I'm not sure if there is anyone on the staff who can help McDaniels right this ship.
A: Titles aside, the Broncos have only one "coordinator" calling plays on game day. Coach Josh McDaniels is the team's offensive coordinator on game day and directs the team's scheme on offense through the week.
Mike McCoy carries the title of offensive coordinator, and McDaniels' brother Ben is the quarterbacks coach. McCoy is respected among his peers for his work in Carolina before he came to the Broncos last year.
McCoy certainly takes part in game-planning through the week, and has some impact in decisions (as do all of the offensive coaches), but the offense is Josh McDaniels' production. For McCoy and the other offensive coaches to move on to other jobs, or to be promoted, the team will have to have enough success to overcome the belief McDaniels runs the offense and the others are just involved in the process.
For example, when the Broncos were having a lot of success, Mike Shanahan used to go to great lengths publicly to say that Gary Kubiak was calling plays, even though Shanahan was very active in calling plays much of the time and would often veto calls.
Ben McDaniels was a high school assistant before getting hired by the Broncos. Many in the league wonder how that will turn out, but many at Dove Valley like the way Ben McDaniels handles himself.
But within the league, Ben has to battle the idea he was hired by his brother. He'll have to find a way to build his own résumé — where people see him as Ben McDaniels, NFL assistant, rather than Josh's brother.
Don Martindale had never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL before being promoted by McDaniels before this season, but he had been one in college football and has worked with current Jets head coach Rex Ryan, so he has some chops in league circles.
However, the perception in the league is that Josh has some big involvement in the defense as well, which is why other coaches believe Mike Nolan is no longer with the Broncos. Nolan is a respected defensive coach, and folks with other teams believe he left because Josh wasn't going to let him run the defense as he was accustomed to doing.
McDaniels has publicly said that isn't true, but that is still the belief. Defensive line coach Wayne Nunnely and secondary coach Ed Donatell, who has been a coordinator in the league, are longtime, respected assistants in the NFL.
McDaniels works off the Belichick model, in which the head coach is hands on in most things and coordinators have less control over their weekly game plans.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com


Read more: Q&A: Josh McDaniels has hand in all the Broncos' plans - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci...#ixzz14QjfAsvM

[yerner]

Mcdaniels should try turning the play calling over to Mccoy and/or Wink for the rest of the year. He obvioulsy doesn't have the hot hand right now. I'm hoping he's reevaulating his role and taking more input from his coaches.

[baja]

Originally Posted by yerner

Mcdaniels should try turning the play calling over to Mccoy and/or Wink for the rest of the year. He obvioulsy doesn't have the hot hand right now. I'm hoping he's reevaulating his role and taking more input from his coaches.

If the league believes Josh is a micro manger he will never be able to recruit top position coaches.

[baja]

I believe the best head coaches are the ones that delegate and mediate.

[Florida_Bronco]

Originally Posted by yerner

Mcdaniels should try turning the play calling over to Mccoy and/or Wink for the rest of the year.

Wink already calls the defensive plays. If you watch when the cameras are on him you can see him looking over the play cards and then calling the play in to the MLB.

As for turning the offensive play calling over to McCoy, I don't like that idea. Nothing against McCoy, but McDaniels built himself on his playcalling. I would be a little unhappy to see him give that up.

[Rabb]

Originally Posted by baja

I believe the best head coaches are the ones that delegate and mediate.

yep, it's just people management 101...not even football

the reason I think Josh is done is that I don't believe his ego will allow him to let go of any of the control we would all like him to let go of

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by baja

Today's questions about the Broncos come from Papi. Send your questions via e-mail to jlegwold@denverpost.com.
Q: How do you and other teams view our coordinators? Are they highly respected? Some of the best at what they do? The way this team is playing, they don't seem to be getting better. And I'm not sure if there is anyone on the staff who can help McDaniels right this ship.
A: Titles aside, the Broncos have only one "coordinator" calling plays on game day. Coach Josh McDaniels is the team's offensive coordinator on game day and directs the team's scheme on offense through the week.
Mike McCoy carries the title of offensive coordinator, and McDaniels' brother Ben is the quarterbacks coach. McCoy is respected among his peers for his work in Carolina before he came to the Broncos last year.
McCoy certainly takes part in game-planning through the week, and has some impact in decisions (as do all of the offensive coaches), but the offense is Josh McDaniels' production. For McCoy and the other offensive coaches to move on to other jobs, or to be promoted, the team will have to have enough success to overcome the belief McDaniels runs the offense and the others are just involved in the process.
For example, when the Broncos were having a lot of success, Mike Shanahan used to go to great lengths publicly to say that Gary Kubiak was calling plays, even though Shanahan was very active in calling plays much of the time and would often veto calls.
Ben McDaniels was a high school assistant before getting hired by the Broncos. Many in the league wonder how that will turn out, but many at Dove Valley like the way Ben McDaniels handles himself.
But within the league, Ben has to battle the idea he was hired by his brother. He'll have to find a way to build his own résumé — where people see him as Ben McDaniels, NFL assistant, rather than Josh's brother.
Don Martindale had never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL before being promoted by McDaniels before this season, but he had been one in college football and has worked with current Jets head coach Rex Ryan, so he has some chops in league circles.
However, the perception in the league is that Josh has some big involvement in the defense as well, which is why other coaches believe Mike Nolan is no longer with the Broncos. Nolan is a respected defensive coach, and folks with other teams believe he left because Josh wasn't going to let him run the defense as he was accustomed to doing.
McDaniels has publicly said that isn't true, but that is still the belief. Defensive line coach Wayne Nunnely and secondary coach Ed Donatell, who has been a coordinator in the league, are longtime, respected assistants in the NFL.
McDaniels works off the Belichick model, in which the head coach is hands on in most things and coordinators have less control over their weekly game plans.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com


Read more: Q&A: Josh McDaniels has hand in all the Broncos' plans - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci...#ixzz14QjfAsvM

I got published! That was my question for JL. Yeah!

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by Rabb

yep, it's just people management 101...not even football

the reason I think Josh is done is that I don't believe his ego will allow him to let go of any of the control we would all like him to let go of

Same thing was said of Shanahan for years. We see how that ended.

[Jesterhole]

I think McDaniels should hire more high school assistants.

[Beantown Bronco]

Originally Posted by baja

McDaniels works off the Belichick model, in which the head coach is hands on in most things and coordinators have less control over their weekly game plans.

What's funny is Bill B himself didn't always use the "Belichick model" described above. He got all those SB wins when he had strong, active offensive and defensive coordinators in Mangini, Crennel and Weis. Once he lost those guys and began to essentially assume all those roles himself, he had significantly less success and 0 SB wins.

[Popps]

Originally Posted by baja

If the league believes Josh is a micro manger he will never be able to recruit top position coaches.

This is a valid criticism, if true.

I said the same thing about Shanahan for years. I felt like he was hiring yes-men at DC most of the time. We later got a little bit of confirmation of that via some inside sources around here.

The problem is, when Shanny brought in "name" guys, it was almost even worse. I thought the Rhodes hiring was going to propel us to our next SB. It was a flop. I thought Bates looked like a smart move, and that was a total flop.

So, as I've said... this stuff is harder than it looks, and we're only looking in from the outside.

Still, if the perception is that McD is too hands-on, he may indeed have trouble getting "name" guys to come in. That said, he may also have success in home-growing guys the way Walsh, Bill B. and other great coaches have.

Time will tell.

[baja]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

What's funny is Bill B himself didn't always use the "Belichick model" described above. He got all those SB wins when he had strong, active offensive and defensive coordinators in Mangini, Crennel and Weis. Once he lost those guys and began to essentially assume all those roles himself, he had significantly less success and 0 SB wins.

that's not my post that you quoted.

[DawnBTVS]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

What's funny is Bill B himself didn't always use the "Belichick model" described above. He got all those SB wins when he had strong, active offensive and defensive coordinators in Mangini, Crennel and Weis. Once he lost those guys and began to essentially assume all those roles himself, he had significantly less success and 0 SB wins.

Pretty much wrong here. Belichick has admitted he was far, far too hands on in everything at Cleveland and in his first year with New England. It wasn't until Year 2 that he started to delegate a bit more (that doesn't mean he didn't have his hands in Offense/Defense/ST meetings though).

Through the years, he's mostly stayed hands off in terms of calling plays. Bill O'Brien, the current QB coach calls the plays offensively. It's been that way (QB Coach is usually the OC) since Charlie Weis was in NE.

Anybody who follows the Patriots knows that Belichick has his hands mostly in the defense, that's obvious. They also know that guys like Eric Mangini, Dean Pees, etc. called the defensive plays but also had Belichick in their ear. If you ever watch a game, Belichick is constantly huddled up in front of the offense or defense talking to them about what's going on. That's not taking on every role himself. That's called in game coaching and he still lets his coordinators do their jobs.

I'm sure if McCoy were to call the plays offensively, it'd be the same scenario with McDaniels. He may not be literally calling the plays but his fingerprints would still be there and McD would still be immersing himself in the various Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams meetings.

[Beantown Bronco]

Sorry, Dawn. You're obviously missing or misreading my point.

Originally Posted by DawnBTVS

Pretty much wrong here. Belichick has admitted he was far, far too hands on in everything at Cleveland and in his first year with New England.

And was he successful then? Nope. Just like I said.

Originally Posted by DawnBTVS

It wasn't until Year 2 that he started to delegate a bit more (that doesn't mean he didn't have his hands in Offense/Defense/ST meetings though).

Like I said. Stepped back. I never said he abandoned completely.

Originally Posted by DawnBTVS

Through the years, he's mostly stayed hands off in terms of calling plays. Bill O'Brien, the current QB coach calls the plays offensively. It's been that way (QB Coach is usually the OC) since Charlie Weis was in NE.

Anybody who follows the Patriots knows that Belichick has his hands mostly in the defense, that's obvious. They also know that guys like Eric Mangini, Dean Pees, etc. called the defensive plays but also had Belichick in their ear. If you ever watch a game, Belichick is constantly huddled up in front of the offense or defense talking to them about what's going on. That's not taking on every role himself. That's called in game coaching and he still lets his coordinators do their jobs.
.

We'll agree to disagree on where he is today....and where he has been the last 2-3 years in terms of "hands on"-ness. I'll stand by my statement that it's significantly more than it was back in the SB years.

[DawnBTVS]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

We'll agree to disagree on where he is today....and where he has been the last 2-3 years in terms of "hands on"-ness. I'll stand by my statement that it's significantly more than it was back in the SB years.

Fair enough. In relation to Belichick, I thought this was really neat (and could give an insight into how McDaniels coaches on the sidelines).

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-...chick-mic-d-up

[yerner]

Originally Posted by Florida_Bronco

Wink already calls the defensive plays. If you watch when the cameras are on him you can see him looking over the play cards and then calling the play in to the MLB.

As for turning the offensive play calling over to McCoy, I don't like that idea. Nothing against McCoy, but McDaniels built himself on his playcalling. I would be a little unhappy to see him give that up.

I guess that is true, but it isn't working very well right now. Perhaps Josh could let someone take a crack at it. I'm not saying forever but this offense is sputtering and a changing up the play caller can maybe shake it up. I think anything is worth a shot right now.

[OrangenBlueOhio]

Originally Posted by Popps

This is a valid criticism, if true.

I said the same thing about Shanahan for years. I felt like he was hiring yes-men at DC most of the time. We later got a little bit of confirmation of that via some inside sources around here.

The problem is, when Shanny brought in "name" guys, it was almost even worse. I thought the Rhodes hiring was going to propel us to our next SB. It was a flop. I thought Bates looked like a smart move, and that was a total flop.

So, as I've said... this stuff is harder than it looks, and we're only looking in from the outside.

Still, if the perception is that McD is too hands-on, he may indeed have trouble getting "name" guys to come in. That said, he may also have success in home-growing guys the way Walsh, Bill B. and other great coaches have.

Time will tell.

WOW! You just said Josh Mcdaniels might end up as good as Bill Walsh. I know you love the guy, but how can any body take what you say seriously EVER again!

[Popps]

Originally Posted by OrangenBlueOhio

WOW! You just said Josh Mcdaniels might end up as good as Bill Walsh. I know you love the guy, but how can any body take what you say seriously EVER again!

I'd say you must be mentally impaired, but that would be a real insult to the mentally challenged out there.

If you got THAT out of what I wrote... you should simply shut down the computer, push away from the desk and find another hobby.

[orinjkrush]

Josh got a C last year.
He's workin on a D this year.
Is he learning anything?

[KipCorrington25]

His coaching staff is so poor he almost has to. Hiring high school coaches, running off all the strong assistants, Nolan, Dennison, Turner, etc.

Even if he did get fired who amoungst his staff could even fill in for the rest of the season, Wank? his littler brother?

His staff is a joke.

[HAT]

Originally Posted by Rabb

yep, it's just people management 101...not even football

the reason I think Josh is done is that I don't believe his ego will allow him to let go of any of the control we would all like him to let go of

Speak for yourself.....I want McD to win powerball and buy a controlling interest. Ellis is holding him back.

[s0phr0syne]

Originally Posted by Traveler

I got published! That was my question for JL. Yeah!

this seems to be getting overlooked, but congrats and nice job asking a good question. certainly a discussion worthy subject in this bye week where a lot of fans are trying to "figure out" how to right the ship

[strafen]

Originally Posted by HAT

Speak for yourself.....I want McD to win powerball and buy a controlling interest. Ellis is holding him back.

So we can continue our downspiral trend and cement our place as the laughing stock of the NFL?
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.