Now that Josh McDaniels is on the job, the Broncos can finally get down to serious business on a project they probably should have started 10 years ago, when John Elway limped into the sunset.
Rebuilding.
The Broncos need to rebuild.
Rebuild? It’s a dirty word in the NFL, verboten because it gets coaches fired, even a coach as successful as Mike Shanahan.
For as long as Pat Bowlen has owned the franchise, it has always been championship or bust for Denver. Rings were the thing. Every year. Nothing else would do.
But within an hour after McDaniels was introduced, I asked him how realistic it is to expect the Broncos can be Super Bowl contenders in his first year as coach.
“I don’t know,” McDaniels said with humble restraint and supreme caution.
So long as Shanahan was the coach, there was never a doubt the Broncos were going for it all, and if they failed, somebody, whether it was a defensive coordinator or Jake Plummer, was going to pay.
Things have changed at Dove Valley, maybe more than Broncomaniacs really care to know.
During the next 12 months, there is deadwood to be cut at team headquarters, pennies to be pinched and new philosophies to be established.
“We need to improve in a lot of areas. There’s a lot of room for improvement. There is every year,” McDaniels said. “It doesn’t matter how close we are (to the Super Bowl) now. It only matters how close we are at the end of the season.”
After the dismissal of Shanahan, I put forth a 10-point plan for Denver to rekindle championship aspirations in a hurry.
It was suggested the Broncos hire New England personnel guru Scott Pioli, which Kansas City did. It was proposed the most promising assistant coach on the market was New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and St. Louis apparently agreed. It was touted that the No. 1 free agent to pursue is Albert Haynesworth, but the big Tennessee defensive lineman could cost more money than Bowlen is in the mood to commit in uncertain economic times.
For most of a decade after winning his second Super Bowl in Denver, Shanahan proudly and defiantly refused to tear apart his franchise, even when Terrell Davis came up lame or Brian Griese bombed.
Maybe that’s why Shanahan took risky personnel chances on players such as cornerback Dale Carter. And maybe there was good reason Shanahan had such distaste for even the mention of rebuilding, because the first time the veteran coach seemed comfortable speaking about it was less than a month before he got fired.
While the hunt for a new coach made for an eye-catching crawl on the bottom of your TV screen, if you believe playing talent counts for more than coaching strategy in the NFL, then you know why I’m far more interested to see if the Broncos can acquire Southern Cal linebacker Rey Maualuga in the draft than to figure out why they picked McDaniels over Spagnuolo.
The Broncos are sending us a message. They’re rebuilding.
Sure, we marvel at the vast potential of Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Ryan Clady. Nevertheless, of the 24 starting players on offense, defense and special teams, do not be surprised if the Broncos have 10 new starters when they tee it up for their next game.
“There are no preconceived notions of how much is going to change and how much isn’t,” said McDaniels, stressing the team will be re-evaluated from top to bottom. “We’re going to try to put the best 53 people on the roster at the end of training camp, and whatever gives us the best chance to win, that’s what we’re going to do.”
The beauty of pro football is any given Sunday. If Arizona can awake this morning and be one victory away from a trip to the Super Bowl, then there’s hope next season for anybody not named the Lions.
Could the Broncos convert to a 3-4 defensive scheme, find a monster pass-rusher and ride the enthusiasm of a bright young man who has never been a head coach to championship contention?
Well, we were all born to dream. Anything’s possible.
But, truth be known, I’m not sure the No. 1 goal for this Denver team in 2009 is the Super Bowl.
The Broncos are finally honest enough to tackle the nasty task everyone in the NFL must eventually endure.
They’re rebuilding.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
