Kansas City coach Todd Haley patted Josh McDaniels condescendingly on the head after his Chiefs beat McDaniels Broncos Sunday. The head pat ended up being a kiss of death for Josh in Denver
- Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Josh McDaniels was fired by the Denver Broncos on Friday after going 3-17 over his last 20 games. McDaniels was the third NFL head coach fired this season.
Broncos owner Pat Bowlen let the fiery McDaniels go one day after a miserable 6-10 loss in Kansas City to the division-rival Chiefs. While nobody questions Bowlen’s motives following an embarrassing series of scandals and failures, the timing of the decision is somewhat suspect.
Bowlen originally stated last week that he would not fire Josh this season or next, but immediately began backtracking from that statement in subsequent interviews.
Now rumors are circulating that Bowlen fired McDaniels as a late-day birthday present to local blogger Ian Cerveny. The date of the firing, December 6th, coincides with the day 29 years ago that Cerveny was born in a Denver hospital mere hours after the Broncos wrapped up a thrilling 13-16 home win over those same Kansas City Chiefs.
When Mr. Cerveny was reached for comment, this interviewer was only able to discern a series of what sounded like deep, resounding gut-laughs followed by, “I want Bill Cowher for Christmas!â€
With Josh McDaniels fired, the search for a new head coach is on in Denver. The Broncos have not announced an interim head coach, and may hire a permanent replacement yet this season.
Former Denver Linebacker and current Colorado sportscaster Al Wilson has cited unnamed sources in claiming that Bowlen is targeting Air Force Falcons head coach Troy Calhoun. The Falcons are based out of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs 60 miles south of Denver.
McDaniels will still receive a paycheck from the Broncos next season, joining Mike Shanahan on Denver’s out-of-state non-working payroll.
Minnesota’s Brad Childress and the Cowboy’s Wade Phillips were also fired by their respective teams this season.
