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The Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders square off in Week 4. Both teams are off to rough starts with new coaches, one of which is Josh McDaniels. The Raiders coach is in his second stint as a head coach, with his first coming with the Broncos in 2009 and 2010.
McDaniels went 11-17 over those two seasons in Denver with no playoff appearances. Former Broncos offensive lineman Tyler Polumbus, who played for the team in 2008, 2009 and 2015, dropped a Twitter thread sharing his stories about McDaniels. The first tale he shared was how McDaniels claimed that he can turn a high-school quarterback into an All-Pro after trading away Pro Bowler Jay Cutler. His successor, Kyle Orton, was mediocre under McDaniels.
In honor of Raiders week, I present a 🧵 about my Favorite Hurricane Josh McDaniels Stories:
1. After trading away the young nucleus of our offense including Jay Cutler, Josh said to the entire team “Fellas don’t worry about the QB situation, I can turn a HS QB into an All Pro.”— Tyler Polumbus (@Tyler_Polumbus) September 29, 2022
Polumbus also shared that McDaniels would begin Broncos practices by criticizing players and coaches for their mistakes in the previous practice with extreme profanity. He explained that McDaniels would put dozens of slogans up and that everyone had to memorize what they said or else he would chew them out.
3.Every single day began with a 10 minute bad football reel from the day before where he would DOG cuss you and your coach for any bad play from practice 24 hours ago. Set the tone for a real positive day in front of entire team.
— Tyler Polumbus (@Tyler_Polumbus) September 29, 2022
Josh McDaniels got the job in Denver after working with the New England Patriots for eight years. Like many disciples of Bill Belichick that go off to become head coaches, he instituted a culture of toughness that backfired because he didn't have the tactical abilities or history of winning that Belichick does. He didn't even get through two full seasons with the Broncos, his lone NFL head-coaching role before taking the Las Vegas gig.
The Raiders are now the ones who have to deal with McDaniels. They are 0-3 so far despite a big offseason. The Broncos, though, are not exactly enjoying life with Nathaniel Hackett so far. Russell Wilson needs to pick it up for the offense and Hackett needs to put together strong game plans if they want to build a sustainable winner.
