I have to say, I did not think that Broncos management would make a move before the season was over. I'm surprised and a little unsure of what to think about it. Here are some initial observations, however.

I still like McD. I like his youth, energy, and fire, and I think he has a lot to bring to the table. That being said, he absolutely did this to himself. By virtue of the moves he made, he put enormous pressure on himself to win. He cleaned house when he signed on. Virtually everyone of the offensive playmakers from the Shanny era were gone by the time this season started. By gutting the team of its stars, McD put himself in a position where he had to win and win now to show that he was making the right calls. He was unable to do this. 

Under ordinary circumstances, a new coach would be given to the end of the season to turn things around, maybe even get one more full season to show what he has. But since McD came in with all of the decision making power for personnel and football matters, he left himself with little margin for error. I think that eventually he will be a very good head coach in the league, if he takes the lessons learned here to heart. He should have either built on what was here when he came, or waited to fully gut the old roster until he had more of "his" players in place to run his system. 

Unfortunately, I don't know where the Broncos go from here. The roster is a mess. Moreno has not shown consistency or durability, and Tebow is an unknown quantity. Orton is nothing more than a journeyman, and the running back depth is a joke. We have no weapons at tightend, and the O-line can't stay healthy. Our defense is either old or inexperienced. The only place where I see real strength is in the receiver corps. If the quarterback has no time to throw and the running game can't pick up yards, receivers don't do you a helluva lot of good.

The way I see it, depending on who ends up with the coaching job starting next year, we are at least two or three years from competing for a playoff spot or even having a winning record. I just hope that whoever comes in makes good personnel decisions out of the gate and we get lucky in the draft. Make no mistake, this season was over three weeks ago. It is past time to be looking at the potential players entering the draft or going into free agency. Let's dust off the old draft boards people. It is time to start planning.