McDaniels in Denver: What he learned

[Woodie]

I posted this in another thread, but thought it has some good information about what McDaniels learned from his time as HC in Denver, and thought it would be of interest to many of you.

Anyway, I know there are a lot of people that don't like the idea of McDaniels being hired as the coach here.  And much of the concern stems from his time in Denver.  I have stated in other threads that I believe he has likely learned a lot since then, and have since found this article from 3 years ago or so that talks about exactly that. 

A few people here have posted articles that shed a different light on McDaniels than what we all thought, but this one is specifically about his time in Denver and what he has learned from it.  It kind of sets the records straight on what he learned from that experience and what we could expect if does get hired.  

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2666428-the-redemption-of-josh-mcdaniels-failure-taught-pats-oc-how-to-pick-his-spots

A couple of quotes:

Quote

"I was by myself—just me and my thoughts," McDaniels says. "I had very little interaction with other people. I had time to go back over everything we did in Denver, the decisions we made, step by step. I could slow it down."

 

There were many lessons to be considered, about big things and small: the length of meetings, player discipline, to call plays or not call plays, developing assistant coaches, time management, how to build the roster, handling the media, scheduling, how hard to work players...on and on.

 

Much of what he thought about had to do with relationships.

Quote

Trading Cutler was not McDaniels' intention when he arrived in Denver. He had heard some things and was sniffing around. Then Cutler started to get suspicious, and the relationship started to turn.

 

Rather than try to salvage things, McDaniels said screw it. He traded him.

"I learned the hard way," he says. "We could have avoided that, no question."

 

Quote

"Lesson Learned: LISTEN better. To anyone who tells me something. There are so many people who can help us win & have wisdom I don't have. I will do my part in teaching but can never stop learning myself. Best results come from a group effort!"

 

If someone had an idea, McDaniels wasn't all that interested in hearing it. He'd rather do something himself and know it would be done to his standards than delegate to a subordinate. He unwittingly suppressed creativity and growth.

"As much as we are on the same staff, we don't all think the same," McDaniels says. "That's OK. Before, I might have been frustrated with that. Now I feel that's a healthy thing."

 

Watching and talking to Belichick during his second Patriots tenure has made this clear to him. "After being a head coach myself, I look at him in a different light when he speaks to the staff or players," McDaniels said. "I appreciate how supportive he has been of me, and I see how supportive he is to others."

 

Quote

"Lesson Learned: Be considerate of assistant coaches' time, their emotions & make sure they always know how much I care. Push them, hold them accountable and love each one of them personally. We win as a team, we lose as a team and I always take responsibility for the losses. They get the credit when we win—they deserve it."

One former assistant said McDaniels' people skills were a problem.

 

"I was tough on assistants," McDaniels says. "I didn't do a good enough job of making them feel good, in terms of what they were doing for us. I have learned how important that is to make sure they understand how much you appreciate them. They need to be able to enjoy working with you. There is no doubt I appreciated them. I just don't know that I demonstrated that."

 

When he came back to New England, McDaniels noticed something: Belichick knew all of his children's names—Jack, Maddie, Livia and Neenah. He thought about that.

 

Quote

"Lesson Learned: I wanted to practice until I felt we totally had it. Wrong Choice. I need to lighten the load and REALIZE the value in allowing the players to feel good about that. Players who feel you are taking care of them will give you all they have during the week and on Sunday."

 

There was friction and distrust between McDaniels and some of his Broncos players. In a 2013 interview with 750 The Game in Portland (via PFT), punter Mitch Berger said McDaniels wouldn't talk to him or look at him if he performed below his standards. "I never played for a guy in my life who guys wanted to play for less," he said. "He was just a guy you didn't care about."

 

Having a feel-good relationship with players, McDaniels thought at the time, wasn't important. Scoring touchdowns, sacking the quarterback, having more takeaways than the opponent—that's what he thought was important.

 

He thinks differently now. At one point, it dawned on him: His father always seemed to strike the right balance between being demanding and compassionate with this players, and he was beloved for it. Without mutual respect, he realized, it's almost impossible to achieve mutual goals.

 

Quote

"I trust him, I respect him, I love him like a brother," Brady says. "He's not just my coach. He'll be a friend the rest of my life. We've been through a lot of wins, losses, tough seasons and incredible seasons. It's been a fun ride to experience with him."

 

There's a lot more there.  But it shows just how much he has reflected on his time in Denver, and how he is changing to make sure he does things the right way next time.  To me, it says a lot about a man when he can acknowledge his mistakes and weaknesses without trying to blame others, and understands he needs to make changes to become better.

[countryboi]

Quote

"Lesson Learned: Be considerate of assistant coaches' time, their emotions & make sure they always know how much I care. Push them, hold them accountable and love each one of them personally. We win as a team, we lose as a team and I always take responsibility for the losses. They get the credit when we win—they deserve it."

this is a huge red flag, the mark of a man is how he treats people he feels are beneath him

[Woodie]

6 minutes ago, countryboi said:

this is a huge red flag, the mark of a man is how he treats people he feels are beneath him

The red flag is for the man that doesn't learn to treat people better.  McDaniels did learn.  He self-analyzed, and realized he wasn't treating people with the respect they deserve, so it is one of the many changes he has made.

[rayzor]

Point blank, this guy is a risk because of his past experience as a HC was such a big failure. Part of learning how to be a good leader is making mistakes. Minus loads of experience, you're going to have to rely on what you learned from those mistakes.

He blew it, but I have no doubt he learned a lot.

Will he apply it and stick with it? I don't know, but I do know that because of the potential to make this team not just really good, but great I think he's worth the risk.

He's a swing for the fences type of hire. We need a home run hire. You can't hit a home run if you're trying to play it safe. 

[t96]

 

Read the replies. You don’t want this guy anywhere near the Panthers.

 

[rayzor]

14 minutes ago, countryboi said:

this is a huge red flag, the mark of a man is how he treats people he feels are beneath him

That was a huge red flag. Point of the story and interview was what he learned he needs to do better.

[t96]

Just now, rayzor said:

Point blank, this guy is a risk because of his past experience as a HC was such a big failure. Part of learning how to be a good leader is making mistakes. Minus loads of experience, you're going to have to rely on what you learned from those mistakes.

He blew it, but I have no doubt he learned a lot.

Will he apply it and stick with it? I don't know, but I do know that because of the potential to make this team not just really good, but great I think he's worth the risk.

He's a swing for the fences type of hire. We need a home run hire. You can't hit a home run if you're trying to play it safe. 

Rhule, Bieniemy, Stefanski are also potential huge reward hires. McDaniels is proven trash.

[rayzor]

Just now, t96 said:

 

Read the replies. You don’t want this guy anywhere near the Panthers.

 

Yes I do. That was from how long ago? I don't want him as a GM. I want him as a coach 

[countryboi]

6 minutes ago, Woodie said:

The red flag is for the man that doesn't learn to treat people better.  McDaniels did learn.  He self-analyzed, and realized he wasn't treating people with the respect they deserve, so it is one of the many changes he has made.

In my experience people dont change that much, once and asshole always an asshole. 

[rayzor]

Just now, t96 said:

Rhule, Bieniemy, Stefanski are also potential huge reward hires. McDaniels is proven trash.

They don't have the potential he has.

He screwed up his first chance. Why wouldn't he be better this time around. 

Obviously not perfect like you have obviously always been, but most of us have made big mistakes when we were young that we learned from and shaped us into better people and even better leaders. No reason to think he's not one that has. The guy was humbled, something that he and many if us have needed to grow into something better.

 

[rayzor]

6 minutes ago, countryboi said:

In my experience people dont change that much, once and asshole always an asshole. 

Pretty sucky, sad, and small perspective on life and people you've got there.

[t96]

6 minutes ago, rayzor said:

Yes I do. That was from how long ago? I don't want him as a GM. I want him as a coach 

All the reports are he wants full control of roster wherever he goes as HC, so that’s what we’d be getting...

[rayzor]

Just now, t96 said:

All the reports are he wants full control of roster wherever he goes as HC, so that’s what we’d be getting...

Citations, please.

[Sean Payton's Vicodin]

He wasn't "humbled" he just ran back to daddy Belicheck like most of his prodigies do after they flop. Look at the Colts drama fron two years ago. Thankfully for them they got a better coach who also isnt a grade A asshole.