After nearly a decade and a half, the Denver Broncos made one of the most surprising front office moves in franchise history when Pat Bowlen fired head coach/VP of player operations Mike Shanahan.

The firing was a huge surprise to many, while some others saw it coming.  In fact, this move was brought to my attention over a week prior to its occurrence when a former B/R writer Josh Vitale suggested the move be made on a Facebook discussion board.

To me, it was unheard of.

Shanahan led the Broncos to their only two Lombardi trophies in franchise history, and was undoubtedly the most successful head coach Denver has ever had.  He was so successful, in fact, that the Broncos only had two losing seasons under his tutelage.

When 2008 saw the Broncos miss out on playoff action for the third straight season, Pat Bowlen decided enough was enough.

After firing his good friend, Bowlen set up a host of head coaching interviews that included the likes of Raheem Morris, Steve Spagnuolo, Jason Garrett, Leslie Frazier, and Josh McDaniels.

After extensive interviewing, Bowlen hired McDaniels, who had been in the New England Patriots organization for the past eight seasons, most recently as an offensive coordinator.

This was a move that I expected and promoted from the start, and although many Bronco fans were lobbying for a more defensive minded head coaching prospect, the smart money was on getting a coach to develop Denver’s stellar offense, which at the time included quarterback Jay Cutler.

McDaniels is the youngest head coach in Broncos history, and is the second youngest in the NFL today right in front of Tampa Bay’s Raheem Morris.

Some have suggested that McDaniels is arrogant and has an ego to keep inflated, but I would contend he is the polar opposite.

For 15 years, the Broncos’ organization has been a “prison run by the inmates,” if you will.  There has been no discipline whatsoever.

When McDaniels was given free reign, he immediately revamped the Broncos’ roster and coaching staff to his liking, including trading his diva quarterback.

McDaniels is (or at least was) regarded as one of the best young offensive minds in the National Football League.

In 2007, he coordinated a Patriots offense that is arguably the best the NFL has ever seen, and followed in 2008 by molding Matt Cassel, a quarterback who had not started a single game since high school, into a $63 million man.

With the Patriots, McDaniels won three Super Bowls, four AFC Championship titles, and six division titles whilst leading the NFL in winning percentage over the course of the past eight seasons at 76.6 percent.

Of course, McDaniels should not be given all of the credit for the Patriots’ success, as he played a minimal role for a couple of those seasons, but he was there nonetheless—he has championship experience.

More than anything, this young Broncos team needed two things:

1.  Direction

2.  Championship Experience

While it could be argued, depending on whether or not you are talking to a Jay Cutler homer, McDaniels has provided the Broncos with both.

He learned a standard and protocol with the Patriots that has given the Broncos hope for 2009 and beyond.

McDaniels is regarded as a quarterback “guru” by his peers, and figures to do wonders with new quarterbacks Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, and rookie Tom Brandstater.  In fact, McDaniels has had such a solid track record for developing quarterbacks that many feel Kyle Orton is set to have a breakout season.

When McDaniels was hired, he completely cleaned house not only in terms of players, but he revamped his coaching staff as well.

He hired former Carolina Panthers passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy to be the Broncos’ quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, although McDaniels will most likely be above him on both accounts.

McCoy has nice tenure with the Panthers, so the Broncos appear to be in good hands at the quarterback position.

Bobby Turner and Rick Dennison were the only two coaches retained from Mike Shanahan’s offensive staff, and both figure to continue to implement the zone blocking and running scheme that has made the Broncos the most successful rushing unit over the last 20 seasons.

Denver’s defense will be coached by 3-4 guru and long-time defensive specialist Mike Nolan, who has had a very decorated NFL career.

Nolan was most recently seen roaming the sidelines for the San Francisco 49ers as the team’s head coach, but he has spent 11 seasons at this level coaching defenses.

And coaching them well.

Under his tutelage, Nolan has seen two players win Defensive Player of the Year awards in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, and coached 2007 Defensive Rookie of the Year Patrick Willis, who is regarded as one of the NFL’s top middle linebackers.

He undoubtedly will have his hands full with the Broncos’ defense, which has been likened to Swiss cheese over the last two seasons.

One of the more underrated coaching acquisitions this offseason was the Broncos’ signing of Wayne Nunnely to coach the defensive line.

Nunnely has been coaching the San Diego Chargers’ defensive linemen for the last 12 seasons.

He has over a decade of experience coaching defensive linemen in the 3-4 scheme, and as the Broncos make a transition to that defense, he will be an enormous help.

The Broncos’ coaching staff appears to be one that can work together for a long time, and one that has a great mix of youth and experience.

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