Josh McDaniels hired as Broncos Head Coach

News coming out of Denver late yesterday evening was they have come to a conclusion in their search for a new head coach to replace the fired Mike Shanahan. The Denver Broncos chose to go with youth, when they turned the keys of their team over to 32 year old Josh McDaniels, the New England Patriots offensive coordinator.

Quietly Josh McDaniels has made a name for himself around the NFL as the next great coach to come out of the New England Patriots organization and Bill Belichicks coaching tree. McDaniels spent his first eight years with the New England Patriots working his way up from personal assistant in the scouting department to offensive coordinator. McDaniels is also credited for orchestrating the Patriots high flying passing attack that saw Tom Brady throw for 50 touchdowns just a year ago.

This hiring could prove to be a watershed moment for the Denver Broncos as they look to move beyond the Mike Shanahan years. However, the hiring of Josh McDaniels could be a very risky move. While Bill Belichick is undoubtedly a great coach, his coaching tree has been less than impressive. Belichick is responsible for spawning two NFL head coaches, and one college head coach in the last five years. Non of those coaches have found great success since leaving the Belichick. camp.

Romeo Cornell never made the post season while he was coaching the Cleveland Browns. He was also fired after this season ended, and is currently looking for employment around the NFL. Eric Mangini came out of the gates smoking when he first arrived at the Jets. However, teams should caught up to his ways, and after an up and down season, Mangini was fired by the New York Jets at the conclusion of this season. However, Eric Mangini was not unemployed long as he has already gone to work for the Cleveland Brown. The final head coach that has come out of the Bill Belichick coaching tree is Notre Dame's Charlie Wise. The reviews have been mixed to say the very least on Wise's coaching career in South Bend. He did find success in his early years at Notre Dame, but since then he has fallen on hard times. This past season the Irish finished the season an underwhelming 7-6.

The point being, that when teams hire a Bill Belichick product, recent history has shown us that they don't always get all the Bill Belichick genus along with the hire. Or perhaps Bill Belichick products are like their mentor, and it's the second coaching gig that puts them over the top. After all no one even talks about Belichicks stint as the Cleveland Browns head coach.

Nonetheless, the Denver Broncos have found their man in Josh McDaniels, and I have to say why? While Mike Shanahan may have been on the downside of his career, the Broncos just admitted they are willing to rebuild everything by hiring McDaniels, and Broncos fans had better be prepared to suffer through some rough seasons as the "wunder kid" attempts to find his coaching legs.