It doesn’t happen very often.
To me.
But when it does...
WOO-HOO.
April 22, 2010.
Josh McDaniels was right.
Oh so right.
That was the day McDaniels made Tim Tebow the future of the Denver Broncos.
A year and change later Tebow is the hottest quarterback in the NFL right now.
McDaniels wiggled his way into the 25th overall pick in that 2010 draft.
He traded three precious draft picks to do so.
And he selected Tebow.
A winning quarterback who did everything wrong.
Everything.
He runs instead of throws.
Throws left instead of right.
Praises God, instead of making it rain.
The football world couldn’t believe McDaniels would put his faith in a no-talent nothing whose only quality was his faith.
Brian Baldinger, who played 13 years in the NFL and is now an analyst for the NFL Network, said...
“It’s a move that puts the Broncos behind five years.”
CBS Sports National Columnist Mike Freeman wrote:
Denver wasted a valuable first-round pick on a player who will do nothing for years unless they move Tebow to fullback or make him a missionary and have him snip foreskins.
ESPN, who broadcasts the NFL draft, gave the Broncos a grade of F for taking Tebow.
But even with all the jokes, McDaniels got his guy.
And he couldn’t have been happier.
“He’s been a winner and you could see why,” McDaniels said.
“Tim’s a player that’s capable of doing different things. He gives you an opportunity to create some packages.”
“You can get creative.”
That was April 22, 2010.
Just 592 days ago.
McDaniels was the head coach of them Broncos.
The man put in charge of returning this great franchise to glory.
Owner Pat Bowlen had given McDaniels the keys to his car.
And McDaniels was taking that car for quite the spin.
From the moment he arrived, the 160-pound McDaniels threw his weight around.
He got into a public spat with star quarterback Jay Cutler.
Two months later, Cutler was gone.
He got into another public spat with star receiver Brandon Marshall.
Within a year, he was gone too.
McDaniels was doing it his way.
Dammit.
Some thought maybe the altitude in Denver was causing McDaniels head to swell.
That was never confirmed.
But what we did know is that this guy finally got a seat in the big boy chair and he was calling the shots.
All of them.
At the ripe old age of 32, McDaniels was the third-youngest head coach in the history of the NFL.
But he didn’t get this job without some good credentials.
Eight years under Bill Belichick as an assistant coach with the New England Patriots.
Where he was the voice in Tom Brady’s helmet.
When they won three Super Bowls together.
McDaniels was the real deal.
And he paid instant dividends for the Broncos.
Six of them.
He became the fourth rookie coach in the history of the NFL to win his first six games.
Hall of Fame, here I come.
(RECORD SCRATCH SOUND)
Not so fast.
Out of nowhere, something went wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Like two wins in their last ten games of that 2009 season wrong.
Three wins in the first 12 games of the 2010 season wrong.
And poof, McDaniels was gone.
Just.
Like.
That.
Fired, with an F.
Exactly one year ago today.
Happy Anniversary!
Now a firing is never a good thing.
Especially these days.
But in the case of McDaniels you can put aside the kleenex.
The Broncos still owed him $7.5 Million when they let him go.
Which he will collect in full.
And after losing that job, he found another one.
As the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams.
Granted -- one of the worst teams in the entire league.
But McDaniels still has a future in front of him.
It will just be the past that haunts him.
A past where he was right.
When everybody said he was wrong.
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