Whispers continue to get louder that Patriots' Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels is the front runner for the Broncos head coaching vacancy. As I have done with all the candidates, I reached out to my SBNation brethren to find out their thoughts on each candidate.
For McDaniels, I went over to MaPatsFan who presides over Pats Pulpit to get a few thoughts on what he thinks of McDaniels as a Head Coaching candidate --
Josh McDaniels, currently Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks for the New England Patriots, joined the organization in 2001 and, until 2003, spent a great deal of time breaking down film for the defense, so he has a background on that side of the ball. He moved to quarterbacks coach in 2004 and got the OC nod in 2006. He oversaw a record-breaking 2007 offense, but I think his biggest success came in 2008 when he had to navigate through a myriad of starter injuries and reshape his offense to fit.
Given his rise in the organization, I'm not yet convinced he'd be immediately successful as a head coach. Sure, he's been mentored by one of the best in the business (in my humble opinion), but I'm a believer in the assistant head coach role. That job brings everything together and worked well for Belichick when he was tutored by Bill Parcells. I think McDaniels needs a few more years before he can truly be a successful head coach.
Our thanks to Pats Pulpit for taking the time to give a few thoughts on McDaniels.