Josh McDaniels Sucks

Posted by Uncle Rico 5:15 PM ET

Less than twenty four hours after agreeing to interview for the Denver Broncos head coaching vacancy, New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams withdrew his name from consideration.

This is the third time a candidate blew off the Broncos and executive vice president of football operations John Elway.

Last week, Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey canceled his interview with the Broncos saying he wanted to spend the bye week focusing on the Falcons divisional round playoff game. However, Mularkey did not cancel his meeting with the Cleveland Browns. Then again, Browns president Mike Holmgren did not call Mularkey “Mark” several times during a press conference as Elway did.

Then Jim Harbaugh elected to not give the Broncos an audience before settling on the San Francisco 49ers over the Miami Dolphins, University of Michigan, or a return to Stanford.

And now Gregg Williams has ducked the Broncos, likely deciding that he doesn’t want any part of the Broncos front office dysfunction (e.g. inexperienced Elway, bumbling Brian Xanders, requiring candidates to participate in awkward video interviews on their way from DIA to Dove Valley, etc.) and/or the mandate that Tim Tebow is the team’s quarterback of the future.

Also, Gary Miller is reporting that Perry Fewell is likely to remain with the Giants as defensive coordinator.

So, to say the least the search is severely shorthanded. But, the Broncos seem stubbornly intent on making a hire by next week from the below list of underwhelming options:

Rick Dennison, John Fox (if he doesn’t cancel before his scheduled interview on Wednesday), Dirk Koetter and interim head coach Eric Studesville.

Denver was in no hurry to interview Ron Rivera (who is set to be named head coach of the Carolina Panthers later today), so why the urgency all of a sudden? The prudent thing to do is to exercise patience and expand the search to include more qualified candidates such as Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, New York Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, Jr., and Jon Gruden. Further, unless the Broncos know for certain that Mularkey bailed for reasons other than preparing for the Packers, wait for the Falcons season to end so that an interview with Mularkey, at one time rumored to be the frontrunner, is possible.

Even if Gruden demands final say authority and compensation too rich for the Broncos budget, meeting with the Super Bowl champion head coach will provide the novice Elway a barometer to gauge discussions with other candidates.

To begin the process of repairing the damage done to the franchise by Josh McDaniels, Elway must take his time and get this hire right. Limiting the interviews to Dennison, Fox, Koetter and Studesville is a disservice to the Broncos community.

ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio notes that curiously neither Elway nor Jim Saccomano tweeted about Williams opting not to interview, and he shares his thoughts on the Broncos new all-access format:

“Folks also are barely noticing that many of the head-coaching candidates aren’t candidates for any other head-coaching job. And no one has said much at all negative about the prospect of John Fox bringing his 2-14 record from Charlotte.

“So congrats, Broncos. You’ve managed to turn a potential P.R. nightmare into a positive situation. Let’s see if you can pull off similar magic if/when the losses pile up. Again.”

Posted by Uncle Rico 10:30 PM ET

The Denver Broncos have yet to contact Ron Rivera. (Image: Getty Images)

Two yeas ago when the Denver Broncos were searching for a head coach after firing Mike Shanahan, former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan was practically begging for the job. Ryan was confident he could turn around Denver’s defense (perhaps starting with free agent additions Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard and drafting Brian Orakpo or Clay Matthews) and build on Denver’s young, established offense led by Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Brandon Marshall, and rookie hard nosed running back Peyton Hillis.

Foolishly, the Broncos didn’t consider Ryan a candidate for the job in part because Broncos then assistant general manager Brian Xanders, who sat in on the Atlanta’s interview of Ryan for the Falcons head coaching position in 2007, thought Ryan interviewed poorly and passed on such information to Pat Bowlen and Joe Ellis.

Instead, the Broncos fell in lust with Josh McDaniels and Ryan was hired by the New York Jets. McDaniels spent two years destroying the Broncos while Ryan’s tenure in New York has been remarkable. On the strength of a tough, physical and fast defense and a strong ground game, the Jets made it to the AFC championship game last year and with a win over the Colts yesterday will face the Patriots in the divisional playoff round next Sunday.

Now the Broncos are feverishly looking for the franchise’s thirteenth head coach after terminating the arrogant and immature McDaniels in early December. Unfortunately, the Broncos inexperienced, caricature of a front office, led by newest Twitter sensation John Elway and the bumbling Xanders, is repeating the same mistakes this time around. Seemingly sifting through D-list coaching candidates, the Broncos are ignoring proven NFL head coaches such as Jon Gruden and successful coordinators Ron Rivera and Rob Ryan (Rex’s twin brother).

Rivera played linebacker on the 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl championship team, was linebackers coach under Jim Johnson in Philadelphia from 1999 – 2003 (the Eagles appeared in three consecutive NFC title games while Rivera was on the staff) and then he returned to Chicago to serve as the Bears defensive coordinator for three seasons (2004 – 2006). During Rivera’s tenure as Chicago’s defensive coordinator, the Bears defense was widely regarded as one of the the top units in the NFL (No. 1 in scoring defense and No. 2 in total yards allowed in 2005 and No. 3 in scoring defense in 2006). Subsequent to Chicago’s loss to Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLI, Rivera and the Bears could not reach agreement on a new contract (rampant rumors asserted that Lovie Smith was growing increasingly unhappy with Rivera often calling for the Bears defense to run the aggressive 46 defense he learned playing for Buddy Ryan rather than Smith’s more conservative, single gap Tampa 2 defense).

Rivera served as the San Diego Chargers linebackers coach in 2007 and was promoted to defensive coordinator when the Chargers fired Ted Cottrell during the 2008 season. In San Diego, Rivera adapted his philosophies and schemes to the 3-4 defense from the 4-3 alignment he previously favored. The Chargers defense continually improved under Rivera and in 2010 it was the NFL’s No. 1 ranked unit in total yards allowed.

Rivera’s playing and coaching success is hard to top. Yet, despite both Elway and Xanders indicating that Rivera is a candidate for the Broncos job, Denver has not made any formal attempt to interview Rivera. Meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers have scheduled a second interview with the hungry Rivera as Elway and Co. ready to meet with John Fox. Fox posted a 73-71 record in 9 years in Carolina, including an NFL worst 2-14 campaign in 2010. If the Broncos sleep on Rivera any longer, they’ll miss the boat entirely.

Similarly, the Broncos ought to be pounding on the door of Rob Ryan. Ryan entered the NFL coaching ranks in 1994 as defensive backs coach on his father’s Arizona Cardinals staff. With Ryan as his position coach, cornerback Aeneas Williams earned two trips to the Pro Bowl (1994, 1995). In 1995, the Cardinals led the NFL with 32 interceptions and 42 total takeaways. The 1994 Cardinals ranked second in the NFL total defense, second in run defense and third in pass defense. Ryan returned to the college ranks in 1997, serving as the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State University from 1997-2000. Ryan was named Coordinator of the Year by The Sporting News in 1997. In 1998, OSU was second in the nation with 41 sacks. In 1999, the Cowboys were ranked 10th in the nation in total defense.

Ryan was part of two Super Bowl championship teams as the New England linebackers coach from 2000 – 2003. Ryan’s linebacking corps produced Pro Bowl players, Tedy Bruschi (2004) and Willie McGinest (2002). In 2001, the Patriots allowed just 17 points per game, and in 2003 Ryan’s defense led the NFL in scoring defense surrendering only 238 points. Ryan then served as the defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders from 2004 – 2008, and held the same position with the Cleveland Browns under head coach Eric Mangini in 2009 and 2010.

Apparently the Broncos learned nothing from failing to consider Rex Ryan in 2008. To date, Denver has elected to focus the team’s coaching search on underwhelming candidates Perry Fewell, John Fox, Dirk Koetter, and Eric Studesville while ignoring the more qualified Rivera and Ryan. Not interviewing Rivera and Ryan is a disservice to the organization and Broncos fans, and evidence of the mass confusion at Dove Valley.

UPDATE: Two more candidates the Broncos absolutely should be interviewing (after their respective teams are eliminated from the playoffs):

Mike Pettine, defensive coordinator New York Jets
Greg Mattison, defensive coordinator Baltimore Ravens

UPDATE II: Ron Rivera is set to become the fourth head coach in Carolina Panthers history. You snooze, you lose Denver!

Posted by Uncle Rico 3:30 PM ET

On Wednesday the Denver Broncos officially introduced John Elway will as the organization’s executive vice president of football operations. Elway’s press conference seemed more like a college pep rally designed to restore the confidence and spirit of the Broncos community, than a substantive discussion about the blueprint to deliver winning football.

It is clear Elway is very passionate about the Broncos, but without a strong support system it will be difficult for the Broncos legend to succeed in his new role. During his hour long talk, Elway twice referred to Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey as “Mark,” and called center J.D. Walton “Watson.”

Not surprisingly, Mularkey later postponed his interview with the Broncos (which had been scheduled for today) saying he wanted to focus on the Falcons second round playoff game. However, Mularkey did not cancel his meeting with the Cleveland Browns which will take place tomorrow.

As The Denver Post’s Dave Krieger noted “if you are not prone to leaps of faith, you look to see if the structure around Elway is likely to put him in a position to succeed. And the first thing you notice — at least, the first thing I notice — is the Broncos are doing nothing to improve their player personnel department.

“This certainly looks like the team’s weakest link. Erratic drafts and curious trades have left the roster talent-poor. When the Chiefs faced this situation, they lured GM Scott Pioli from New England. Two years later, they’re back in the playoffs. The Broncos’ most obvious need was the best young judge of football talent in the free world. They didn’t even make a call. Didn’t chat with Eric DeCosta of the Ravens or Kevin Abrams of the Giants or Omar Khan of the Steelers or, well, anybody. You’d think they might at least have checked in with Doug Whaley of the Bills, considering their list of coaching candidates includes Mike Mularkey, Perry Fewell and Gregg Williams, each of whom the Bills elected not to retain as their head coach.”

Instead Pat Bowlen, Joe Ellis and Elway thought general manager Brian Xanders “deserved a chance.” Not on account of Xanders qualifications – despite numerous attempts by the Broncos, Xanders and Mike Klis to convince fans he has scouting experience, according to former Falcons general manager Ken Herock, Xanders had no actual scouting experience when he arrived in Denver 2 plus years ago – rather because Xanders said the various personnel blunders of the past two years would not have happened if he was making the decisions and not former head coach Josh McDaniels.

Amazingly, Xanders cowardly attempt to distance himself from McDaniels in a desperate effort to save his job worked. What value does Elway see in retaining McDaniels’ puppet? A spineless general manager that is unwilling to take a stand for his viewpoints or too scared to blow the whistle on the destruction of the franchise is the last thing the Broncos need as the team to begins to repair the damage caused by McDaniels.

So, as Krieger continues, “in an effort to get away from McDaniels’ one-man rule — which, it must be noted, occurred under the noses of owner Pat Bowlen and right-hand man Joe Ellis, both of whom promised it would not — the Broncos now envision at least three cooks [Elway, Xanders and the team’s new head coach] hovering over the draft soup.” Sounds rather dysfunctional and it appears as if the top coaching candidates agree.

In addition to Mularkey cancelling on the Broncos, Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh only showed “backburner interest” in Denver initially and then wouldn’t agree to an interview.

Candidates are being scared off by the “odd” football operations structure and the team’s perceived commitment to Tim Tebow as its starting quarterback. Coaches, who often only get one shot at running an NFL team, don’t want to stake their reputation on an inexperienced player personnel department and a quarterback lacking the skills necessary to be an effective passer.

Elway endorsed Tebow as “a darn good football player” but acknowledged he’s got a ways to go to be “a darn good quarterback.” Nonetheless, the Broncos are not likely to hire a head coach that doesn’t believe Tebow is the Broncos quarterback of the future. A shame and disservice to the Broncos really, as limiting the choices for McDaniels permanent successor to “Tebow-ites” eliminates a number of good candidates – 75% of NFL coaches and scouts don’t think Tebow will be a good NFL quarterback.

The Denver Broncos job is no longer desirable. As a result, the Broncos are forced to turn to the likes of Rick Dennison, Perry Fewell, Jim Fassel, and Eric Studesville. Of that list, Dennison is the only coach that may excite fans. For some unknown reason, former Bears and current Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera still hasn’t been mentioned as a serious candidate. NFL assistants Rob Ryan and Chuck Cecil also deserve consideration, but to date are not on Denver’s radar. Why has Elway not contacted John Gruden, a known admirer of Tebow? And Jeff Fisher may be available for draft picks and/or cash.

Sadly, the Broncos seem destined to remain the laughingstock of the league. If only Pat Bowlen and Joe Ellis had been more deliberate in the team’s last search for a head coach, the future wouldn’t be so gloomy.

UPDATE: Harbaugh has agreed to a five-year deal to become coach of the 49ers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Harbaugh will get $25 million. At $5 million per year, the money certainly isn’t out of the Broncos budget so it looks like there’s truth to Harbaugh not considering Denver on account of the front office structure, terrible defense, and the team’s commitment to Tebow.

UPDATE II: In an interview on Sirius NFL radio today, Xanders said the Broncos are interested in talking to Ron Rivera and New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Williams was the head coach of the Bills from 2001 – 2003 (17-31 record) and his teams were known for being highly conservative, especially on offense. He was the inspiration for Gregg Easterbrook’s designation of “the maroon zone” by frequently punting in opponent territory.

UPDATE III: Titans owner Bud Adams announced that Jeff Fisher will remain his head coach. The Broncos added another name to the embarrassing list of head coaching candidates – Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. Koetter’s offenses in the last three years have finished 24th, 24th, and 18th in points scored. ProFootballTalk.com’s Evan Silva thinks Elway is targeting quantity over quality in his search for Josh McDaniels’ replacement. Lastly, Gregg Williams joined Harbaugh and Mularkey in effectively saying no to the Broncos.

Posted by Uncle Rico 2:30 PM ET

John Elway and the Denver Broncos would be wise to hire Jim Harbaugh and trade up in April’s draft for Andrew Luck. (Image: Getty Images)

With the worst season in Denver Broncos history coming to a close last Sunday, the Broncos must begin rebuilding the once proud franchise. On Wednesday, the Broncos will officially introduce John Elway as the team’s new vice president of football operations. No doubt, Elway has been charged with a difficult task. And, stubbornly, Pat Bowlen and chief operating officer Joe Ellis are unwilling to give Elway the resources he needs to truly succeed, namely a qualified general manager with a strong background in scouting and talent evaluation. Instead, the Broncos will retain Brian Xanders in his current role.

And unfortunately for Elway, he does not have the benefit of easing into his new position. He must immediately make two decisions that will define his NFL management legacy: (a) selecting the Broncos next head coach, and (b) taking a position on Tim Tebow as the team’s quarterback of the future.

Jim Harbaugh is clearly the hottest head coaching candidate on the market, and for good reason. He has turned Stanford (1-11 in the year prior to Harbaugh’s arrival) into an elite program in only four years and possesses NFL playing and assistant coaching experience. The success of his brother John as the Baltimore Ravens head coach contributes to his allure as well.

As fate would have it, Harbuagh coaches the best NFL quarterback prospect since Elway. Andrew Luck is universally regarded as the No. 1 overall pick (assuming he elects to declare for the for the NFL draft) thanks to a rare combination of physical (arm strength, accuracy, mobility, pocket awareness, and sound footwork and throwing mechanics) and mental (fortitude, football sense) tools.

NFLDraftScout.com Senior Analyst, Rob Rang, called Luck “the best quarterback AND elite prospect — including LaDainian Tomlinson, Steve Hutchinson, Calvin Johnson, Ndamukong Suh — [he’s] scouted, including every Senior Bowl since 2001.” ESPN’s draft analysts agree with Rang’s assessment, as Mel Kiper, Jr. has Luck No. 1 on his Big Board and Todd McShay notes that “Luck is the highest-graded quarterback since Matt Ryan in 2008 and will be the face of the franchise that drafts him for years.”

Most importantly, Elway recently said on his radio show in Denver that “Andrew Luck is the best football player in the draft, without a doubt. If [Luck is available when the Broncos pick in April], then you’re going have to have some very serious conversations of exactly which direction you want to go, whether it’s with Tim [Tebow] or take a guy like Andrew Luck. To me, barring injury, he’s going to be very successful in the NFL.”

While Tebow’s competitiveness, talent and work ethic are benefits to the Broncos, he’s destined to be a below average NFL passer. So, why not find Tebow another position, say tight end or h-back and draft a true franchise quarterback? As desperately as the team needs defensive help, Elway must pursue Luck given the chance to add a player like Luck doesn’t come around that often. And the Broncos have the assets (No. 2 pick overall, Orton or even Tebow) necessary to swing a deal with Carolina.

The Denver Post’s Mike Klis may have finally received the message that Broncos fans are sick of his patronizing puff pieces (e.g. tirelessly defending McDaniels with nauseating accounts of the former head coach’s glory days as a high school kicking specialist, or shamelessly promoting Xanders).

Today, Klis offers the brilliant thought that The Holy Trinity of Elway, Harbaugh, and Luck would propel Elway from “inexperienced Broncos front office boss to leading candidate for NFL executive of the year.” Indeed, landing Harbaugh alone, never mind the top coaching candidate plus the next elite NFL quarterback, would certainly demonstrate Elway’s on field success is likely to carry over into his new role in the Broncos front office.

UPDATE: NFL.com’s Mike Lombardi reports that there are indications coming from Carolina that the organization will not draft a quarterback and rely on Jimmy Clausen next season. While this would be fantastic news, with the draft still four months away it’s foolish to believe that the Panthers have decided on Luck already and shared such information with Lombardi.

Posted by Uncle Rico 6:35 PM ET

If the Denver Broncos don't hire a top general manager and head coach, even Tim Tebow won't be able to pack Invesco Field at Mile High as evidenced by the thousands of empty seats at yesterday's season finale vs. San Diego. (Image: The Denver Post)

The Denver Broncos closed out the worst season in franchise history with a 33-28 loss to San Diego. With the loss, the Broncos secured the No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft.

Despite the narrow margin of victory, the Chargers were in control for the majority of the game, scoring 26 unanswered points after the Broncos jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. Philip Rivers passed for 313 yards and Ryan Mathews rushed for 120 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. The Broncos got a spark from Casius Vaughn when the reserve cornerback returned a kickoff for a score following Mathews third touchdown. After Vaughn’s return and a Tim Tebow 6 yard touchdown run with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Broncos recovered an onside kick but the second of two Tebow 60 yard heaves fell incomplete as time expired.

The regular season finale provided some validation to Tebow’s critics. Tebow’s passing was extremely erratic until the late stages of the game, when he completed five passes and scored on the above mentioned run.

As The Denver Post’s Mark Kiszla points out, the rookie threw two mindless interceptions against the Chargers that would have gotten Kyle Orton booed off the field. However, for some reason Tebow has many Broncos fans memorized, and his significant shortcomings in areas critical for the most important position on the football field are overlooked. Maybe Tebow is getting the benefit of circumstance, as 2010 was the saddest season in the Broncos storied history and Broncomaniacs are grasping at any ray of hope. There’s no denying Tebow is gutsy and willing to take on the league’s fiercest linebackers head on. But as a result, it’s only a matter of time before he’s injured… and that would leave colossal bust Brady Quinn at the controls of the team.

Certainly Tebow’s competitiveness, talent and work ethic are assets to the Broncos, but he’ll always be a below average NFL passer. So, why not find Tebow another position, say tight end or h-back and draft a true franchise quarterback?

Anyone that says Tebow has a better shot of leading the Broncos to the Super Bowl than Brian Griese, Jake Plummer or Jay Cutler is not paying attention. Or they’re electing to look the other way because of the pain that still lingers from the devastation former head coach Josh McDaniels left in his wake. As Kiszla wrote, “[Tebow's] picks into double coverage? Forgiven. A 58.2 quarterback rating against San Diego? Growing pains. Failure to keep the chains moving on fourth down in two out of three chances during the fourth quarter? Not Tebow’s fault. All the blame rolls downhill to somebody else.”

It is imperative that the Broncos select the team’s next head coach without considering the candidate’s evaluation of Tebow. Simply hire the best head coach possible. Period. Gregg Rosenthal agrees that requiring the next head coach to believe Tebow is the Broncos quarterback of the future is short sighted. However, the fans’ strange fascination with Tebow may make it impossible for Pat Bowlen, John Elway and Joe Ellis (unfortuantely, Ellis is still part of the equation at Dove Valley) to make a decision that’s in the best interest of the organization.

Kisla believes “the chants of “Tebow!” that rocked Invesco Field at Mile High were loud enough to chase away any coaching candidate in his right mind.” Because if Tebow (1 win, 2 losses, 40 for 81 (49.3 CMP%), 5 TD and 3 INT in three starts) can’t win as an NFL quarterback, then the team’s next head coach will be fired before Tebow is jettisoned. Bowlen and Ellis won’t pass on the marketing revenue Tebow can deliver as long as Denver’s record hovers around .500. While 8-8 is a lot better than 4-12, it’s obviously not good enough to restore the Broncos to among the league’s elite.

Hopefully Kiszla’s theory is wrong, and top head coaching candidate Jim Harbaugh views Tebow, regardless of position, as a player he can win with at the NFL level. Maybe Harbaugh believes that Tebow is a lot like Stanford’s Owen Marecic, a two-way player for the Cardinal that Harbaugh called “the perfect football player” in the January 10, 2011 issue of ESPN the magazine.

The bigger obstacle vice president of football operations John Elway must overcome in recruiting Harbaugh to Denver is general manager Brian Xanders. The NFL Network’s Albert Breer reported that “front-office structure/GM is vital to landing Jim Harbaugh for NFL teams.” No matter how hard the Broncos and Mike Klis try to sell Xanders as an experienced, strong talent evaluator, Harbaugh knows better. He is well connected in NFL circles. So, even if Elway gets cozy with Harbaugh in South Florida, unless the Broncos are willing to eat crow on Xanders and consider more qualified general manager candidates such as Eric DeCosta, Les Snead, Tom Telesco, or surprisingly Mike Lombardi (who Harbaugh reportedly is close to and comfortable with according to ProFootballTalk.com), reaching an agreement with Harbaugh is not likely.

Posted by Uncle Rico 12:05 PM ET

John Elway is returning to the Denver Broncos as the team's VP of football operations. (Image: Associated Press)

Per ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the Denver Broncos and John Elway have reached an agreement for the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback to join the team’s front office this week as vice president of football operations. Everyone around the Broncos insists this is more than a public relations move and Elway will truly be running the show despite no NFL coaching or management experience.

“One of Elway’s first orders of business as a Broncos executive will be to discuss Denver’s head coach opening with Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh, league sources told Schefter. A former Stanford star, Elway is serving as an honorary captain for the Cardinal on Monday night at the Discover Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech.”

Hopefully Elway’s ties to Stanford give the Broncos a leg up on the competition for Harbaugh’s services, a group known to include the San Francisco 49ers and University of Michigan. Otherwise, the Broncos may turn to Jim Fassel, a candidate the franchise views as “safe,” after experiencing the tumultuous tenure of Josh McDaniels. But, there’s a reason Fassel has been toiling in the UFL since being fired by his friend Brian Billick as a result of the pair not being able to get along on the Baltimore Ravens sideline… he’s stale and doesn’t belong in the NFL.

As alarming as the potential Fassel hire, is that a second helping of general manager Brian Xanders seems imminent. According to Mike Klis, who continues to cozy up to Xanders (it’s getting a little nauseating and unprofessional at this point), Xanders will be retained as the team’s general manager and report to Elway. It’s clear keeping Xanders in his current role is a cost savings move. Pat Bowlen and Joe Ellis do not want to hire a bona fide general manager to assist Elway in rebuilding the franchise because that would likely mean a total revamp of the scouting department at a time when the labor landscape of the NFL is uncertain and the Broncos monetary obligations include paying Mike Shanahan ($3.5 million in 2011), McDaniels (scheduled to earn $3.2 million in 2011 and $3.7 million in 2012) and the team’s new coach and staff.

The Broncos reportedly reached a termination settlement with McDaniels but the terms were not disclosed. So, unless McDaniels disparages the Broncos (i.e. breaches the agreement), or the organization pursued McDaniels’ termination for cause as a result of Spygate II, it’s safe to assume that the worst coach in the history of the Broncos will receive the full balance owed to him under the 4 year guaranteed contract he signed in January 2009.

It will be interesting to see where Elway stands on Tim Tebow. Last week Elway said on his radio show in Denver that “Andrew Luck is the best football player in the draft, without a doubt. If [Luck is available when the Broncos pick in April], then you’re going have to have some very serious conversations of exactly which direction you want to go, whether it’s with Tim [Tebow] or take a guy like Andrew Luck. To me, barring injury, he’s going to be very successful in the NFL.”

Certainly, No. 7′s return to Dove Valley is welcome news, but without the proper resources behind him the move has the other 31 NFL teams nodding and smiling.

UPDATE: Mike Klis reported that pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement entered into by McDaniels and the Broncos, the former head coach will receive less than the $6.9 million he was due for 2011 and 2012 under the contract he signed in January 2009.

Posted by Uncle Rico 1:30 PM ET

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow prays for the team to begin the rebuilding process by hiring Eric DeCosta as general manager. (Image: The Denver Post)

The Denver Broncos erased a 17-0 halftime deficit as rookie quarterback Tim Tebow scored on a 6 yard scramble with 3:02 remaining in the fourth quarter to complete the 24-23 comeback victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday.

At times Tebow’s passing and decision making was painful to watch, but he seemed to inject life into an otherwise morose Broncos team. And with the game on the line Tebow made plays (the Broncos were also aided by a questionable defensive pass interference call on Texans cornerback Glover Quin which advanced the ball to the one yard line on the play before the winning score), something his predecessor, Kyle Orton, failed to do far too often.

As Mike Klis wrote (perhaps his first concrete thought in years), “[w]hether Tebow can make it as an elite NFL quarterback remains uncertain. Two starts are not enough to make such a leap in judgment. Quarterback aficionados go on and on about his long release, his shaky footwork, his inability to quickly read the coverage.

“What Tebow does have are qualities that can’t be coached. Specifically, isn’t escapability a nice asset to have in your quarterback?”

But, it is important to note that the Texans poor defense and shoddy playcalling played a significant role in Tebow’s first NFL victory. As The Denver Post’s Jeff Legwold points out, the Texans pass defense is the worst in the league, and for some inexplicable reason, the league’s leading rusher, Arian Foster, had only five carries after halftime, despite the fact that Foster had 10 and 11 yards on the first two of his three carries in the third.

Nonetheless, the Broncos won for the fourth time this season and the first time since November 14. Now back to reality. Denver’s roster is in dire need of a makeover, with the Broncos being one of the NFL’s oldest and slowest teams. As Legwold offered in a separate story, “before the Broncos fired coach Josh McDaniels, he continually talked of having tough, smart, physical players. However, personnel executives in the NFL believe the word “fast” didn’t come up nearly enough.” McDaniels’ reliance on scheme over talent has left Denver with a roster that is deficient in talent and speed at key positions, and as a result the Broncos face rebuilding from the top down.

Finding the right executives to manage such process is of utmost importance. Brian Xanders’ goofy public relations tour – Xanders has been more visible lately, often explaining his background in scouting and personnel – suggest that Pat Bowlen and Joe Ellis are preparing fans and NFL analysts for Xanders being retained and tasked to work with John Elway on personnel matters as the team moves forward. A general manager that has to continually defend and rationalize his experience should be a warning sign. And while bringing Elway (in a vice president of football operations role) back to Dove Valley is welcome news, pairing him with a general manager lacking in the area most critical to the position is a recipe that will lead to more of the same calamities.

Legwold is accurate in his assessment of the impact that hiring the right general manager (and football operations executive) will have on the Broncos:

“The importance of the Elway – Xanders dynamic can be seen in the NFL standings. Look at who’s who, and you see the rewards for strong, savvy personnel departments.

“Falcons team president Rich McKay is a former general manager. Thomas Dimitroff, a former scout, runs the Falcons’ personnel show. The Patriots have Floyd Reese, a 16-year veteran as a general manager, on the road several days a week working as a “senior football adviser” to coach Bill Belichick. The Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs, Colts and Bears have strong divisions of labor between the personnel and coaching sides of the organizations. All of those teams have favored the draft over free agency for the most part.”

Yet, Bowlen and Ellis are passing on a chance to add a respected veteran from one of the league’s strongest personnel departments – Ravens director of player personnel Eric DeCosta – in favor of a former health club general manager whose NFL experience is rooted largely in salary cap management with the Broncos and Falcons, during periods in which such franchises posted rather weak personnel records (Atlanta started to make the most of its draft capital after the arrival of Dimitroff), and a Broncos legend who may offer more style than substance in a front office role.

So, while top management got it right by firing Josh McDaniels earlier this month, Bowlen and Ellis are on the verge of demonstrating to Broncos fans that they learned nothing from that catastrophic mistake. Even San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York who is 36 years Bowlen’s junior appears to understand the importance of hiring a general manager with a strong scouting background – ProFootballTalk.com reports Trent Baalke is a lock for the job with DeCosta and Tony Softli having been mentioned as candidates – and coupling him with a dynamic, experienced head coach (rumor has it that Baalke is poised to deliver Jim Harbaugh as the team’s head coach).

To present the other side of the story, Mile High Sports’ Eric Goodman recently reported that Xanders had no knowledge of McDaniels trading running back Peyton Hillis to Cleveland, and inferred that Xanders wanted to draft Brian Orakpo (Texas) or Clay Matthews (USC) instead of Robert Ayers. Goodman also added that Xanders did not support the Broncos acquisition of former Patriots defensive end Jarvis Green and running back Laurence Maroney, both of whom McDaniels was “hell bent on getting.” Sure, it easy to feel sorry for Xanders after reading Goodman’s defense of the general manager, but “playing the good role of soldier” (with his reputation on the line) while McDaniels did his best to destroy the franchise is reason enough for the majority of fans to want the Broncos to clean house and start over just as Falcons owner Arthur Blank did only months after Xanders bolted the Falcons.

Anyone with the personality and gumption necessary to be a successful NFL general manager would have immediately dissociated himself with McDaniels (and the Broncos) after learning of what SI.com’s Peter King calls the “Steal of the Year.”

Of course, King is reffering to the Hillis trade and in doing so he wrote “don’t mean to rub it in on the Steal of the Year, but here are the total yards through 15 games for the two men traded for each other: Peyton Hillis 1,638 rushing-receiving yards, Brady Quinn zero passing yards. And the Broncos still owe Cleveland two low-round draft picks.”

Xanders sitting by idly as McDaniels made one disastrous personnel move after the next while collecting the handsome six figure paycheck commensurate with the title of general manager is unacceptable. Expecting Elway to turn the Broncos fortunes around without the help of a true player personnel guru is as big of a mistake as hiring Josh McDaniels without performing appropriate due diligence. Unless Bowlen and Ellis get their act together, more miserable days are ahead for the Denver Broncos.

Posted by Uncle Rico 6:40 PM ET

ESPN’s Page 2 has acquired a copy of letters to Santa Claus from prominent sports figures. Apparently, Josh McDaniels wants to work for Santa over the holidays and is pursuing opportunities not involving joshmcdanielssucks.com.

Merry Christmas!

A copy of McDaniels North Pole employment application (Image: ESPN)

Posted by Uncle Rico 11:30 PM ET

Less than a year ago, Denver Broncos general manager Brian Xanders told Mike Klis of The Denver Post that he and former head coach Josh McDaniels were working in concert with regard to the team’s personnel moves.

On February 23, 2010 under the headline “Broncos coach McDaniels, GM Xanders on same page,” Klis wrote the following:

“Broncos coach Josh McDaniels received accolades as a young genius when Denver started the 2009 season 6-0. He also received the full brunt of criticism when the Broncos lost eight of their last 10 games. Meanwhile, general manager Brian Xanders was all but in-visible from both praise and blame, though he was influential in all major decisions, such as signing Brian Dawkins as a free agent, as well as trading away a first-round draft pick to select Alphonso Smith high in the second round. That’s because McDaniels was the public face of the organization. The exposure imbalance is contrary to how the organization functions, however.”

The article included a telling quote from McDaniels “we’re peers in building this football team,” McDaniels said of Xanders. “He is absolutely an integral part of every decision we make — and I’ll emphasize ‘we’ — because we don’t make any decisions unless we think it’s right for the Broncos.

“Sometimes that means it’s my idea and then I talk to Brian about some things and then we either watch tape or talk about it more, then we decide it is a good idea. Or some things are his ideas. There’s plenty of ideas that I have or he has that, after conversing, there’s no life to it. Nobody finds out about it because nothing happens unless the two of us think it’s the best thing to do for the Broncos.”

Xanders concurred with McDaniels assessment of the organizational decision making authority and process saying “[m]any football people say in this league you cannot have success or build a winning program unless the general manager and the head coach are on the same page. That’s what we have here.”

But, with his job in jeopardy after McDaniels was fired earlier this month, Xanders is now singing a different tune and not accepting any blame for the catastrophic mess at Dove Valley. Xanders is telling anyone willing to listen that McDaniels had final say on all personnel matters. As a result, Xanders believes that he should not be held accountable for the personnel moves McDaniels made, many of which backfired and led to the Broncos worst slide in almost 40 years.

“We have a 17-person personnel staff that had been going through all those processes. But [McDaniels] had final say,” Xanders recently told the Associated Press. “I’ll just say I was respectful of the organizational setup.”

Either way, Xanders clearly bought into McDaniels’ ruinous plan. And Xanders did so at least in part because such plan identified him as the perfect stooge to stand in as the Broncos general manager after McDaniels convinced Pat Bowlen to fire the well-regarded Jim Goodman. Without fail, Xanders delivered the unquestioning obedience that McDaniels desired.

Allowing himself to be manipulated by McDaniels demonstrates that Xanders doesn’t have the fortitude and makeup to be a successful NFL general manager. Add a resume that’s light in scouting and player evaluation experience to the mix, and it’s obvious that if Pat Bowlen and Joe Ellis are serious about restoring the franchise to among the league’s elite, then the Broncos must replace Xanders with a bona fide general manager that will be actively involved in hiring the next head coach.

Certainly, Xanders does not have a good track record when it comes to hiring head coaches. “I had actually interviewed coaches such as Mike Singletary, Rex Ryan, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Smith, Jim Caldwell and Jason Garrett,” Xanders bragged to Klis last February. “Of the 17 interviews I’ve been through, I was excited the most about Josh coming to Denver.”

The Broncos have cause to fire Xanders.

If Xanders actively participated in the decision making that led to the Broncos demise, then he should be fired for incompetence, not to mention his cowardly attempt to distance himself from McDaniels in a desperate effort to save his job.

If Xanders was merely McDaniels’ puppet, then he should be fired for breach of fiduciary duty – failing to act solely in the best interest of his employer. Sitting by idly as McDaniels made one disastrous personnel move after the next while collecting the handsome six figure paycheck commensurate with the title of general manager is simply unacceptable. A spineless general manager that is unwilling to take a stand for his viewpoints or too scared to blow the whistle on the destruction of the franchise is the last thing the Broncos need as the team to begins to repair the damage left in McDaniels’ wake.

Perhaps Xanders can stay with the Broncos if he’s willing to return to his previous role as salary cap manager. If not, maybe he can find work at the local 24 Hour Fitness.

Conveniently, in a recent profile of Xanders, Klis omits any specific reference to Xanders past comments regarding the division of authority in Denver and presents three possibilities for Xanders role moving forward, all of which curiously expand his power and responsibility.

Klis urges doubters to give Xanders – a former a manager of a health club owned by the Atlanta Falcons – a chance because he worked his way into the NFL’s front offices by “first cleaning the pool and steam room for the Rankin Smith family.”

Klis similarly defended McDaniels’ arrogance, defiance and inexperience on a regular basis with numerous nauseating accounts of McDaniels’ high school football pedigree and the adversity McDaniels faced after missing an extra point while playing for his father’s Canton McKinley team in 1994.

Foolishly, Klis continues to think the “rags to riches” story resonates with Broncos fans, but the truth is fans are far more concerned with the relevant professional experience and qualifications of the candidates that being considered to next lead the Broncos than sappy tales of cleaning gym locker rooms or the redemption of a high school kicking specialist.

The profile of Xanders includes the following endorsement from Falcons president Rich McKay:

“I’m biased because I like Brian so much and I have so much respect for him,” McKay said. “One thing on Brian as far as having final say, he’s had all the training that a general manager can have. But those are tough jobs to get, so it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. But I know I had two of the guys I worked with, Jerry Angelo and Tim Ruskell, who went on to be GMs, and Brian is an equally qualified guy.”

Of course Klis fails to mention that (a) in 2008 McKay was relieved of his general manager duties and “promoted” to president to make room for current Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, (b) Xanders was not considered a candidate to replace McKay in Atlanta by McKay or team owner Arthur Blank when Dimitroff was hired from New England, and (c) both Angelo and Ruskell served as NFL scouts before moving into front office positions.

Jilted by McDaniels, Klis looks to have rebounded into the arms of old friend, Brian Xanders. Hopefully within a few weeks, Klis will be making eyes at the Broncos new general manager Eric DeCosta or Les Snead.

Posted by Uncle Rico 1:15 PM ET

Brian Xanders delivered the unquestioning obedience that Josh McDaniels desired and as a result the general manager is culpable for the Denver Broncos epic failures. (Image: The Denver Post)

For the second time this season the Denver Broncos surrendered over 500 yards of offense to the Oakland Raiders. In Oakland’s 39-23 win, the Raiders had two one play scoring drives of more than 70 yards – rookie wide receiver Jacoby Ford scored on a 71 yard end-around on the game’s first offensive play and early in the fourth quarter 6’3″, 240 lbs. fullback Marcel Reece took a screen pass from Jason Campbell 73 yards for a touchdown. As bad as the defense was when Mike Shanahan was fired two years ago, it is worse today because former head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders failed to devote the proper resources and draft capital to the team’s defense (at the cost of dismantling one of the league’s top, young offenses).

Of course, Xanders is telling anyone that’s willing to listen that the mess at Dove Valley is all McDaniels’ fault and the former health club manager was merely “respectful of the organizational setup,” which called for McDaniels to have final say on all personnel matters.

Either way, Xanders should be fired, or at the very least re-assigned.

If Xanders is lying and he actively participated in the decision making that led to the Broncos demise, then he should be fired for incompetence, not to mention his cowardly attempt to publicly distance himself from McDaniels in a desperate effort to save his job.

If Xanders is telling the truth, then he should be fired for breach of fiduciary duty – failing to act solely in the best interest of his employer. Sitting by idly as McDaniels made one disastrous personnel move after the next while collecting the handsome six figure paycheck commensurate with his title is simply unacceptable. The last thing the Broncos need is a spineless general manager that is unwilling to take a stand for his viewpoints or too scared to blow the whistle on the destruction of the franchise.

The reality of Xanders involvement in the day to day management of the Broncos roster moves likely lies somewhere in between. Based on Xanders past comments it is rather evident that he bought into McDaniels’ ruinous plan, at least in part because such plan identified Xanders as the perfect stooge to stand in as the Broncos general manager after McDaniels convinced Pat Bowlen to fire the well liked and respected Jim Goodman. Xanders delivered the unquestioning obedience that McDaniels desired.

So, Xanders’ claim that he didn’t bless or sign off on McDaniels’ numerous draft, trade and free agent blunders is total B.S.

That Xanders would allow himself to be manipulated by McDaniels demonstrates he doesn’t have the fortitude and makeup to be a successful NFL general manager. Add a resume extremely light in scouting and player evaluation to the mix, and it’s painfully clear that the Broncos must move forward by replacing Xanders with a bona fide general manager or risk remaining the laughingstock of the league for the next decade.

Back to the latest embarrassing on field performance of the Broncos. Denver’s game at Oakland provided an opportunity for fans to get a look at the project quarterback McDaniels and Xanders famously squandered three (yes, 3!) valuable draft picks on: (a) one year after trading Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago, and (b) a couple of months before signing Kyle Orton to a lucrative contract extension.

While Tebow’s performance Sunday showed he can do some positive things at the professional level, there are serious concerns that Tebow will never be the pure franchise passer that is required to consistently win in the NFL. As Mile High Sport’s James Merilatt points out, on the day, Tebow had as many carries as he did completions – eight. In a losing effort Tebow attempted only 16 passes!

Merilatt explains Tebow’s attempts were limited “mainly due to the fact that the Broncos coaches didn’t seem to trust the rookie. In almost every third-down situation, they called for Tebow to run with the ball as opposed to throw it, constantly calling the quarterback’s number on draw play after draw play. That’s a telltale sign that No. 15 isn’t ready to throw the ball in obvious passing situations.”

Merilatt continued “[t]here’s also some cause for concern over the types of passes Tebow was asked to throw when the Broncos did call a pass play. Throughout the day, it was either a deep ball or a screen pass. Very few of his 16 attempts were classic routes, the types of bread-and-butter throws that big-time quarterbacks make with ease. There weren’t any slants, skinny posts or deep-ins. It was a lot of relatively safe, and easy, stuff.”

As for the deep passes, The Denver Post’s Dave Krieger writes “his long throws are mostly jump balls, underthrown pop-ups that can produce good results if the defender never turns his head and a savvy receiver like Lloyd ducks underneath. But put a few of them in scouting reports and they are also turnovers waiting to happen.”

Almost every expert evaluation of Tebow concludes that he doesn’t have the skills necessary to be a proficient NFL quarterback. His poor footwork, looping throwing motion, slow release, and inability to work through the quarterback progressions and read passing lanes, all limit his ceiling at the professional level as a passer. However, Tebow’s desire and work ethic will allow him to contribute to the Broncos if he were to switch positions, perhaps playing fullback or tight end.

Krieger raises an issue that’s on the minds of Broncos fans as the season winds down. If the Broncos, who would have the second pick in the draft if the season ended today, have a chance to draft Stanford’s Andrew Luck in April would the team’s next general manager stake his reputation on Tebow by passing on the player Rob Rang, Senior Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, calls “the best quarterback AND elite prospect — including LaDainian Tomlinson, Steve Hutchinson, Calvin Johnson, Ndamukong Suh — I’ve scouted, including every Senior Bowl since 2001”?

The prudent answer is a resounding “HELL NO!”

But, if the answer is yes, then it means that Pat Bowlen and Joe Ellis have made another colossal error by retaining Brian Xanders as the Broncos general manager and it will be more of the same trash moving forward.

If the answer is no, Broncos fans can rejoice knowing that the team has a bright future with a qualified general manager that has adeptly drafted a quarterback that will finally end the 12 year search for The Duke’s replacement.