Head Coach Josh McDaniels and his Rams counterpart Steve Spagnuolo have taken parallel paths to the peak of professional football.
Each man accepted his first NFL head coaching gig in 2009, and both of them contributed to Super Bowl championships with other franchises. McDaniels won three titles with the Patriots, but his New England team fell to Spagnuolo’s Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Spagnuolo spent his last two years in New York as the defensive coordinator, while McDaniels served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for his final three years in New England. The coaches forged a mutual respect through their quick rise up the ranks in professional coaching.
“I have an affinity for Steve Spagnuolo because the relationship I kind of formed with him when we were competing against each other as coordinators,” McDaniels said. “He happens to have to the same agent that I have. We have had an opportunity to meet each other and really kind of get to know one another.”
Before Sundays matchup against Spagnuolo’s squad, McDaniels reflected on why he respects his opponent so much. He said the Rams coach is “putting his stamp” on the franchise, putting together a defense that consistently wreaks havoc.
“He is doing it his way, and I really respect the way that he does it,” McDaniels said. “He always makes you fix problems in the middle of the game, and that is not the case with every other coordinator. He will always take something, he will hurt you with it, and then you better fix it or else you could be in trouble.”
McDaniels isn’t the only person at Dove Valley familiar with the head coach in St. Louis.
For eight years in Philadelphia, Spagnuolo worked with Brian Dawkins, who earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2001 — Spagnuolo’s first year as defensive backs coach.
“Steve was huge in some of the things I was able to do in Philadelphia, a lot of it came from his insight and him helping me out,” Dawkins said. “He is a great human being, a great guy to talk to, very approachable, and he is a straight-shooter as well.”
For his part, Spagnuolo reflected praise back onto McDaniels and Dawkins, whom he said he “respects a great deal and loves even greater.”
On Sunday, McDaniels and Spagnuolo will match wits as head coaches for the first time, and Spagnuolo expects a chess match from a coach who knows how to utilize each piece of his team.
“One thing about Josh is that he’s a creative guy,” Spagnuolo said.
“He’s going to take his talent, whatever he has asset-wise, talent-wise and he’s going to use it effectively. I can see that throughout the film that I watch. I have a great deal of respect for him. He’s done a lot of good things in this league as a coordinator and he’s doing a lot of good things (in Denver) as a head coach.”
INJURY REPORT
Andre’ Goodman (hip), Darcel McBath (quadricep) and Demaryius Thomas (ankle) did not practice all week and are out for Sunday. D.J. Williams (concussion) was limited in practice all week and is questionable, while Robert Ayers (foot) fully practiced all week and is probable.
For the Rams, WR Danario Alexander (knee) was limited all week in practice and is questioable. P Donnie Jones (left calf) was limited all week as well, but he is probable, and WR Laurent Robinson (toe) and T Rodger Saffold (shoulder) are also probable after fully participating all week in practice.
-Gabe Hiatt, DenverBroncos.com
Below are photos from Friday’s practice:
Tags: Denver Broncos, Head Coach Josh McDaniels, St. Louis Rams, Steve Spagnuolo, Week 12
tnalen66………I’m fed up bro!
Yeah, footballMANIAC, we know that. But I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again. Whatever goes on with this team, the head coach is ultimately responsible for what happens. Whether or not he even watched the tapes is irrelevant. He hired the video guy. He’s responsible for the actions of the people he hires. He’s responsible for the integrity of the franchise and how it’s represented publicly. And the fact that it took so long for him to report it sounds a little shady, doesn’t it?
Sorry, but I don’t see any grounds for deflecting the blame away from McD. The fact is nonsense like this keeps happening, and this kind of stuff has been happening ever since he took the head coaching job. I for one will not let him off the hook.
FOOTBALL MANIAC are you still drinking the coolaid! McD hired this guy and I like many dont trust him as far as i can throw him. I bet alot of former Bronco players & coaches did not trust him & that s why they are gone,
When he sent Nolan packing,that should have showed everyone that he is a control freak,Nolan is a great DC,too bad he’s gone.
I have been a fan since Mc D was in diapers and i am sick of the BS. I was hoping we would not hire him or Garret . I wanted a D coach like SPAG OR Frazier. It has been embarassing since he was hired. I knew when we hired the HC b/4 the GM was bad.
It feels so helpless as a fan sitting here venting out our frustrations,knowing we are just farting in the wind.
We have the offense,we just need a HC that believes in Defense.
Mc D got rid of Nolen so Bowlen would have no one to be interm HC. jOB SECURTIY
EXACTLY what i have been saying. We should of got a D HC and keep all the o coaches from the Shanny era and we would be winners not losers every week.
tnalen66…….Amen brother!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All the Bronco fans i know can’t stand Mc D. I don’t think Mr Bowlen will do anything this year. We are stuck w/ McD thur 2011.
We don’t even have a capable coach to be the interm HC,that’s just what McD wanted,he makes me sick the way he fools Mr.B.
Mr.B fired Shanny because our Defense sucked and he wouldn’t hire a new DC,then he lets McD run off Nolan,beats all I’ve ever seen.INSANE!!!!!
McD is supposed to be an Offensive genius,shoot Shanny could outdo him on his worst day,but we all agree we need D-E-F-E-N-S-E.
caramelloo – You have Orton AND Rivers? Wow. You probably couldn’t go wrong either way tomorrow; but, while Kyle is more likely to get the win (Go Colts!), Rivers is going up against a banged-up secondary, and his offense has been very consistent all year, so he might be the safer bet.
Orange_Crusher -We have very different views on this, so we’ll likely just have to agree to disagree, but as you addressed me directly, I’ve decided I should respond. As far as I’m concerned, Kyle Orton has been one of the few bright spots of this year. And I do think that he has mastered McDs offense to a great extent. He has had one or two off games; but so has every Bronco quarterback I’ve ever seen – even John Elway himself looked godawful on occasion. And bad playcalling, sometimes awful o-line play, an often porous defense – there are a lot of factors in our poor record, and Orton is pretty far down on the list, imho. Out of our 22 starters, there are honestly at least 18 I’d bench before Kyle, personally. I would like to see a little more fiery leadership from him (but constantly barking at everyone isn’t good, either); but, that’s about the only problem I have. I think, while no Michael Vick on the run, he’s better than he’s given credit – probably better than, say, Peyton Manning, and he’s made out all right. Last year many fans claimed that Orton couldn’t throw the deep ball; as there were signs last year that that wasn’t the case, and this year has shown that idea to have been incredibly wrong, I believe that time will prove that Orton is often capable of a scramble, and the big drive, when needed. Now, maybe Tebow will turn out to be a worthy NFL full-time quarterback. But, to me, right now all he means is more incompletions, possibly more sacks due to his poor mechanics, and more turnovers, all of which this team is ill- equipped to deal with. (I was pretty much kidding about the idea of trading him for defensive help, though – though we could use it, and the lack of QB controversy would make the blogs a little less occasionally annoying. And McD has already given up on and traded away essentially a first-rounder – Alphonso Smith, with the trade up to draft him – so it wouldn’t be unprecedented. Hey, too bad McCoy’s doing well for the Browns – we could try to get Peyton back for TT! I kid, I kid.) To clarify my personal POV.
Here’s hoping the truth is all out and all ramifications have come down from our own personal spygate, and that the team can add a bit of a bright note to this ugly season tomorrow.
We are alot worse off now that we were 2 years ago. Atleast we had the#2 O and were a few plays away from winning the division. Now we are at the basement of the division and the laughing stock of the NFL
Alright guys this is a buzz killer,not knocking you guys,just can’t think about it anymore,I know I’ll have a hangover in the morning,but maybe I’ll wake up and it will be a bad dream,or maybe……just maybe McD will be fired……….appreciate you guys putting up with me..hang in there!!!!
TEBOW TIME!!!!!!!!!
McD is outta time!!!!!!!!!!
Orton has skill,but does lack leardership and he definitely needs to learn to get rid of the ball and quit eating it,and mobile he is NOT,Tebow could only help the running game,and he CAN throw the ball!!!!!!!!!!
Im out guys
You made a good point, BFE. I guess he would know that it needs to be reported after being with Belichick during Spygate. But I still don’t think he’s entirely at fault here. Sure he hired the employee, but don’t you think he’d have watched the tape if that was his intent? Or not got the crap kicked out of him by SF? Don’t get me wrong, I’m by no means a McDaniels lover, I’ll be the first to point out his stupid moves, but I don’t think this one is entirely on him.
C’mon. This guy is on the staff, after his initial involvement. What on earth would possess him to get caught up in it again? It makes no sense. And perfect sense. Oh, McD was involved alright. Whether he watched the tapes. Or not. Ahem.
It’s the culture now in Denver. It was a big gamble hiring him. I think it’s safe to say, it’s not gonna happen for him here. The longer this plays out, the deeper hole were going to be in. It’s also obvious that as long as McD is coach, there will always be controversy.
BFE- I guess you can say I saw it coming from a mile high! FIRE McD (or resign)
TICK TOCK…
I’ve been trying to think of an intelligent comment to make of this fiasco, but I’m stumped. The only thing I want to do is puke!!! This incident has permanently put a black mark on ther Broncos and Mr. B. Why would you hire somebody into a position that would allow them to clumsily cheat as he had SEVERAL times before? Time will pass, the sun will come up tomorrow and my feelings will possibly change, but at the moment I feel as though I’ve been insulted and made an absolute fool of by McD.
I’ve been thinking about it, and it doesn’t even bother me in the slightest that there’s not a legitimate prospect for interim coach on the staff currently. Fire McD anyway. Heck, Keith Burns the assistant special teams coach would even be better for the Broncos’ morale than someone this classless who has no regard for the integrity and reputation of the organization.
I guess what I’m saying is the win/loss record doesn’t even matter anymore. It shouldn’t. The only thing that should matter is doing the right thing. And now it’s clear the right thing is putting an end to the corruption of the franchise.
LKW,,,,I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t talk about the Oline when Elway was playing,comparing it to the Oline we have now,I ain’t saying we don’t have skilled players,but we had a Helluva Oline coach then bro!the best in the NFL,as a matter of fact!..and don’t even compare Elway to Orton,we ain’t going there!!!!!! and to say his name in the same sentence as Peyton Manning is a joke!!!!!!!
OC is a man of experience and integrity,don’t knock him bro!
Hello my Bronco Family!!!
I am in Denver and have been ever since Friday around 1:30 p.m. If some of you forget, it is my first time here and I have absolutely loved my stay here! Downtown Denver is just amazing and the whole atmosphere is amazing!!! It is soooo hard whenever I see a Bronco fan and not go up and talk to him because at home, in North Carolina, it is very rare to see another Bronco fan and I have to go up and talk to him!!! I have already been to Invesco field at Mile High and honestly, it is the most amazing and most beautiful place I have ever seen!! It was soooo breath taking!!!
I am going early in the morning to the stadium because the manager at the team store told me where the players park and walk to the locker room and I got me a white Bronco football and I am going to get as many autos as I can!!
Also, I am meeting my boy Strand at the game tomorrow and we are watching the game and having a few brewskies!!! It is going to be by far one of the best days in my life!!! I am sorry I haven’t talked on here in a while I just have been in Denver!!
I am also sorry for how I am going on with this convo as I am sitting in the Sheraton in Downtown Denver and just finished off a bottle of wine because our hotel doesn’t have a fridge so we couldn’t get beer because it would get hot!! Sooo much rambling and soooo little time!!! Can’t wait to hear from y’all later on and I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo looking forward to BEATING THE RAMS tomorrow!!
Well goodnight for now my fellow Bronco family and I will talk to you soon!!
I LOVE ME SOME BRONCOS COUNTRY!!!
Also, apparently Decker should be getting a lot of playing time tomorrow!! Will be awesome to see basically the first game of his career!!!
I LOVE ME SOME BRONCOS COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!
Give Tebow a fighting chance,Hell we got 3 draft picks invested in the guy,if we don’t give him a chance,we threw 3 picks away for a clipboard carrier,I for one think he could give us a spark,we ain’t got nothing to lose now but the worst record in the AFC,Tebow needs realtime playing time,if McD is as good as a QB coach as everybody says,let’s see him mold Tebow in 6 weeks,I think he can prove he is a leader in less than that!!!!!!!!
Orton ain’t nothing but a bargaining chip now,we know that so whats the point.it’s more important to get Tebow realtime playing time than to get Orton more trading value,might just be me,but I think I speak for a lot of Broncos Country!!!!!!!!!!
Go strandoftds!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
All score predictions are in, no picks on game day.
P.S. tnalen66, I know you just predicted a Rams 29-17 win, but I have to go with your earlier prediction this week of a 27-16 Rams win.
For the ones who believe McD had nothing to do with the taping, this is from a blogger at the DP:
“Who’s shocked by this action? Like everything else McD has brought with him, it’s ‘the Patriot way’ . . . I don’t believe his apology for a minute. I worked in video for 15 years on the collegiate level and no one in the video business does that without specific orders from the head coach. Period.”
—darkinvader1
A well worded point of view by a guy named Sam about the state of the Broncos following this incident (I worded some many opinions alll day yesterday starting at 8:27am I frankly can’t add much to it, but this is short, to the point, intelligent and is worthy of attention):
“The whole situation is unbelievable. For a guy who talks about ‘we’ and ‘team,’ McDaniels sure has a way of creating more distractions than T.O. and Chad Ochocinco put together. If Pat Bowlen and Joe Ellis aren’t scrambling to find good replacements at general manager and head coach, they’re even bigger gluttons for punishment than the owner of the Lions was for keeping Matt Millen on so long. For McDaniels to even consider putting the Broncos organization at risk after seeing what illegal taping cost the Patriots is beyond arrogant. Pat Bowlen can’t possibly be thinking of putting Broncos fans through another season of this insanity.”
Amen, bro!
I just finished a nice long hot shower and I still feel dirty!!
While ever team stretches the rules to their limit, there is no excuse for what McD’s dupe did. There’s only one reason why you hire somebody who repeatedly cheated and got caught and that is to have him do it again.
Mr. B needs to talk to Tony Dungy and ask him who he’d reccommend to bring in to restore the Broncos severly tarnished reputation.
I’ve been a South Stander since the mid 60′s and this is the first time I’ve ever been ashamed to say I am a Bronco fan.
The one thing that has been consistant throughout the Broncos rags to riches history has been their integrity. McD has destroyed that. I can’t even imagine the players reaction to this fiasco. Will it make them play to the fullest of their potential to show that they are above all the dishonesty or will the be so disillusioned that they’ll quit. We’ll know in few hours.
Maybe what we fans need to do at the next home game is have a pep rally for the players to show them that we are still behind them no matter how bitterly disappointed we are in the whole McD fiasco.
I am really troubled by something Legwold and Klis are reporting this morning about the incident:
Scarnecchia told the NFL nobody instructed him to tape the practice and that he “knew that what he did in London was wrong.” Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was interviewed “under circumstances that would have made it impossible for him to have spoken to Mr. Scarnecchia in advance” and McDaniels’ comments matched Scarnecchia’s recollections of events.Source: NFL.com
Consider this:
The taping took place Oct. 30th.
McD first informed Bowlen and Ellis of the matter Nov. 8th.
Ellis first informed the league of the matter Nov. 12th.
So: How in the world does the NFL justify what they are saying?!?!?!? McD had nine days, count them, NINE days to get his story straight with the video director before the Broncos brass even knew anything about it, so for nine days no one was interviewing or investigating anyone about it, not even in house, and it was another 4 days before the NFL even knew anything about it, so how in the world can they say “under circumstances that would have made it impossible for him to have spoken to Mr. Scarnecchia in advance”????? That dude was in employ of McD all the way through, it makes no sense at all!!!!
Something smells real fishy in all of this, like the NFL is trying to minimize the case as to save themselves and the Broncos organization further embarrassment. Bottom line McD was giving every opportunity to get his story straight with his video buddy and that’s that, I may be stupid but I ain’t blind. Boooh on this whole thing, very sadden by it all, from McD all the way to the NFL.
I thought this whole thing was about an infraction on integrity in the NFL, and as I see it the NFL shows no integrity in it’s handling of the matter, very sad indeed. It’s like politics at it’s worse…
Anyway, it’s back to GO BRONCOS time now.
Funny, oldsouthstander is joining the ranks of McD disenchanted fans, I never thought I would see that day…
Even funnier, from James G:
Coach Josh McDaniels new book, “How To Completely Destroy A Professional Football Team in Just 2 Seasons Or Less” will be on sale this summer at Amazon.com!
I am speechless!! I will post latter after my emotions get toned down. I never had this on my check list on how McD has dismantled our team. Now he is dismantling or reputation. My emotions will come back as I watch the game today, every time they show McFU.
FTR
Thats McFUBAR.
FTR
And the most troubling part of all is that another party in the organization came up with the goods about the taping, not McD, but he was then forced to fess up, that’s the only reason he came clean, for nine days he thought he had gotten away with it, like a child he just got caught with his hands in the cookie jar. I really would love to know who is the guy who ratted out on the whole thing, firts time in my life I would award a medal to somebody ratting somebody else out, and if in the end this ends up getting McD fired, I think this guy should be given the keys to the city.
@ bay… i dont think the NFL is shy about handing out punishments bro! in fact they usually seem pretty excited about doling out as much punishment as possible.. usually. lol you are right that the whole story is kinda off but the League passed their judgment. Case closed i guess. not that most here needed a reason to dislike McD but this sure added fuel to the fire. i think this does less damage than a lot of people think. if anything it makes McD look like a McDingus (a new nickname perhaps?), not the Denver Broncos. 6 games left folks. all we can do is move on and hope we get to see tebow play!
keep your heads up. things can only get better…. i hope!
Keep on buckin broncos (and fans)
THE BATTLE IS WON IN THE TRENCHES
In the end this incident has the smell of one of the biggest cover up in this league if you ask me, INTEGRITY!!!! INTEGRITYY????? WHAT INTEGRITY!?!?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!
Funny how many things that playoff rant of Mora works with, LOL.
i thought it was the quote from 2 mules for sister sarah. Lol “guns? guns? we dont need no stinking guns!” or at least thats the quote ive been playing off of.
Websters…
in-teg-ri-ty: [see TONY DUNGY]
I just heard that this thing is actually not over as the NFL is still planning to have a hearing with that video director guy and further penalties could be levied. Anyone nervous? McD? anyone? I would.
pffft. I guess I am the only one to see the possibility of a set up. Read these comments about McD and it is clear. There is a very good possibility that it was just that, a conspiracy to force Mr. Bowlen’s hand in making a speedy removal of McD from the Broncos. However with that said, I won’t be so bold or arrogant as those who outright deny that McD had no knowledge of the taping incident. It is one just another possibility.
And for the record. the Broncos under the Shanahan regime were not the most ethical or “classful” organization as many are putting on. In fact, the Shanahan salary cap fiasco would get most CFO’s fired or charges pressed against them for doing the same shenanigans. Not too mention the constant false injury reports, etc. Since we are on it’s the Head Coach’s responsibility to maintain the overall integrity of the entire organization. When you take your “blinders” off it is plain to see, there is always corruption.
So why is McD making such a big deal about having only players with integrity?
amen stevecan2
probably because they are easier to deal with and keep under thumb! control… we all know McD likes to be in control.
You actually thought I was wanting an answer to that question? pretty funny ray.
It was a statement question.
didnt know if you did or not, but answered none the less!
gotta love blog world. lol