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Broncos' McDaniels is more than a Belichick disciple

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Alex Marvez

Alex Marvez is a Senior NFL Writer for FOXSports.com. He has covered the NFL for the past 17 seasons as a beat writer and is the former president of the Pro Football Writers of America. He also is a frequent host on Sirius XM NFL Radio.

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Updated Oct 11, 2009 4:35 AM ET
     
 

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.

They are the NFL's Boyz in the Hoodies. New England's Bill Belichick popularized that style of sweatshirt by wearing it on the sideline. Josh McDaniels has donned one in Denver — albeit with the sleeves intact — as a tribute to his mentor. With cool weather forecast, both head coaches will probably sport them once again during Sunday's Patriots-Broncos game at Invesco Field. That fashion statement would further feed into the perception of McDaniels being a pure Belichick clone from having worked under him the previous eight seasons in New England. In this case, clothes don't make the man. Sure, McDaniels has liberally borrowed from one of football's sharpest minds in how he runs the surprising Broncos (4-0). Practice schedules, the offensive system, even media policies are almost exactly the same. The Patriots-style "team" concept is stressed to the hilt, especially when player individuality comes at the expense of others. Wide receiver Brandon Marshall learned that the hard way when suspended in the preseason for deviant behavior. But even though their relationship is the main media storyline heading into Sunday's game, Belichick isn't the most influential coaching figure in McDaniels' life. That distinction actually falls to Thom McDaniels, a long-time Ohio high school football coach who began taking his son to practices at the age of 4. "My coaching style — how I am with the players, what I say on the sidelines, how I act — probably comes a lot more from my father," McDaniels told FOXSports.com before Friday's Broncos practice. "I watched some 200 games standing right beside him growing up. I was his guy that held the (headset) cord and all the rest. I can go over and over about the things I remember seeing him do. "It's an invaluable experience to go through as a young kid. People who don't grow up that way really don't understand how much value there is in that." As the son of a football coach himself, Belichick does. That's one reason Belichick and McDaniels became so close personally and professionally. So are all the positive qualities Belichick spouted about McDaniels — "smart, loyal, hard worker, good sense of humor, very committed, easy to work with" — during a telephone interview. "He's a real solid guy," Belichick said. "He's very good at what he does." It didn't seem like that at first in Denver. Replacing a Broncos coaching legend like Mike Shanahan was daunting enough. McDaniels' grace period then ended prematurely when a blow-up with Jay Cutler led to Denver's star quarterback being traded to Chicago in April. Skeptics began to question whether McDaniels — a 33-year-old wiz kid as New England's offensive coordinator — was in over his head and quickly headed toward the same fate as other ill-fated Belichick proteges who flopped as head coaches like Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini. McDaniels was tested again in August. Upset about his contract status, Marshall's frustration boiled over when he became disruptive during practice. McDaniels suspended Marshall for the rest of the preseason. The Broncos appeared in chaos from the outside, especially with Cutler replacement Kyle Orton getting off to a rough preseason start. But the Marshall suspension galvanized the team around McDaniels, who had been quietly winning players over with his football acumen and upbeat demeanor. "The key was staying together," Broncos safety Renaldo Hill said. "In the locker room, we knew all we had was each other." McDaniels finally caught a break in the season-opener. Brandon Stokley's 87-yard touchdown catch off a ricochet with 11 seconds remaining gave Denver a 12-7 victory in Cincinnati. The Broncos haven't stopped rolling since and enter Sunday's game with a better record than New England (3-1). Denver's revamped defense has allowed only 26 points in four games. And while not in the same league as Cutler as a passer, Orton hasn't thrown an interception in 117 pass attempts. "Clearly, Josh's way of doing things was different because there was some conflict there," said Kansas City general manager Scott Pioli, who worked closely with Belichick and McDaniels in New England. "You change the culture when you win. That's happening now. People are buying in. They should know Josh is doing the right thing." Marshall now does, having bought into McDaniels' program upon returning from his suspension. Not only did he catch the game-winning touchdown pass in last Sunday's 17-10 victory over Dallas, Marshall crashed McDaniels' postgame news conference to give him a hug. That was the first public display of affection McDaniels had received as Denver's head coach. It also went a long way toward humanizing someone who was widely perceived as cold and impersonal like how Belichick comes across in a news conference setting. But feel-good moments are really nothing new for McDaniels, who is still young and fit enough to physically interact with his players on the field. New England's Wes Welker remembers when he was challenged to cover McDaniels — a wide receiver himself at John Carroll University — at Patriots practices.
"I don't think he caught one ball," a laughing Welker said. "I wouldn't exactly call what he was doing as running routes. They were scramble patterns. He thought he was still good. He thought doing double, triple and quadruple moves would be able to help. It didn't." While he jokingly recalls having more success against Welker than that, McDaniels admits personal interaction with players is a cornerstone to his coaching philosophy. "There is the business side of it, but there are also plenty of relationships you can hold outside of that aspect," McDaniels said. "I try not to separate the two. I love those guys in that locker room. I know some aren't going to be here forever and some are going to be here longer than others. But when they're out there playing, practicing and in meetings, they're all your guys. You've got to treat them like that." McDaniels also is comfortable in his own skin, which the 57-year-old Belichick says is vital to coaching success. "The big thing is to be yourself," said Belichick, the NFL's top head coach this decade with three Super Bowl titles. "I don't think you can be somebody else. I don't think anybody else can be me — and I don't think they should want to be. Just because something works for somebody else doesn't mean it's going to work for you. You have to create your own style in a way that's comfortable for you." On that front, McDaniels already is a success even if the pupil doesn't beat the teacher in Sunday's matchup. "People always associate me as being from New England, which I am, but I'm also my own person," McDaniels said. "My background and personality doesn't conflict with the information that I'm bringing with me from New England. I think I've really learned over the last 12 weeks here how to put that all together — be the leader of the team, communicate effectively, have great relationships with our players, get them prepared as much as I can and still hold onto the things that I've learned but do them in a different way. "My own way is OK."
Tagged: Renaldo Hill, Jay Cutler, Kyle Orton, Patriots, Brandon Stokley, Wes Welker, Bears, Brandon Marshall, Broncos

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