ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler, benched for the Denver Broncos’ season finale and barred from the sideline, embraced each other with huge smiles as players filed out of Dove Valley.
Marshall’s locker was the only one stripped bare Monday. Even his name plate and No. 15 sticker were gone.
Scheffler left behind some clothing and other mementos. Like Marshall, though, he figures he’s played his last game in Denver.
If so, they’ll join a long list of holdovers who punched their ticket out of town since Mike Shanahan was fired a year ago after going 8-8, the same record Josh McDaniels posted in his first year.
Some of Shanahan’s holdovers thrived in their new roles. Pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil led the NFL with a team-record 17 sacks, left tackle Ryan Clady earned his first Pro Bowl berth and Marshall had his third straight 100-catch season despite a year filled with drama and disputes with the team.
Others, especially on offense, saw their roles greatly reduced under McDaniels:
—Guard Ben Hamilton was benched in favor of Russ Hochstein, one of several players McDaniels brought with him from New England.
—Wide receiver Eddie Royal went from 91 receptions to 37, from five TDs to none.
—Slot receiver Brandon Stokley’s catches dipped from 49 to 19.
—Right tackle Ryan Harris was encouraged to return to action despite a broken toe and ended up on IR.
—Peyton Hillis went from starting tailback to forgotten fullback.
“Any locker room’s going to have its issues with a new coach and 60 percent new guys and 40 percent holdovers from the old regime, the old system,” Scheffler said. “There’s obviously going to be issues and I think coach is working on taking those issues away. If that means moving players out of here and kind of getting his own deal going, then that’s the NFL.
“That’s something you’ve got to deal with. That’s why there’s 32 teams.”
McDaniels said he didn’t set out to make Shanahan’s guys less involved this season but said switching systems takes its toll on players who were brought in to do different things.
“Maybe it’s harder, maybe it’s easier. Some maybe embrace it and some may not. But each system brings with it different challenges for players,” McDaniels said. “I think that the first year of a new system is not totally different than a rookie having to learn a new offense himself because that’s what some of these guys had to do.
“Same thing on defense. And some guys may end up having more production because of it. Elvis is an example of a guy who flourished defensively, and Brandon had a very similar year to what he had before. I think it’s a case-by-case basis. Again, we weren’t working with the same philosophy I know they had worked with previously.”
Can that change in Year 2?
“Absolutely,” McDaniels said. “I’m disappointed that we couldn’t do more in terms of using Eddie Royal, and I’ve been asked that question a bunch and I know Eddie’s frustrated with it, too. So, I’m not happy with that and I don’t want that to be the case. That’s not stereotypical of Eddie this year, and we’re going to work hard to fix that and get that to change dramatically going into next season.”
McDaniels began his tenure by chasing off quarterback Jay Cutler and ended his first season with Marshall and Scheffler in his doghouse over behavioral issues.
He accused Marshall of exaggerating a hamstring injury but never gave a reason for deactivating Scheffler in the crucial season finale that the Broncos lost to Kansas City, completing a 2-8 free-fall that rendered them just the third team since 1970 to blow a 6-0 start and miss the playoffs.
On Monday, McDaniels said he had no regrets about airing the team’s dirty laundry and said it was too soon to say whether Marshall or Scheffler would be back next season. Those decisions will be part of his organization-wide evaluation process he’ll bury himself in during the playoffs.
Two other holdovers, punter Brett Kern and defensive back Jack Williams, were waived during the season and quickly signed by other teams. All this didn’t go unnoticed in the locker room.
“Just to speak generally on something like that, I do understand how this league works and new coaches love to have their guys,” star cornerback Champ Bailey said. “That’s been a staple in this league for a long time. I mean, whether it’s bringing in coaches that you want or bringing in players that you want. That’s just the way it is.
“And if you fit into what the new coach wants, then more than likely you’ll stay around. But obviously, when a coach brings you in, you’re his guy. I am one of the holdovers, so who’s to say whether I fit into their future plans or not? I don’t know.”
McDaniels said later that he definitely wants Bailey back.
He wasn’t so definitive on Scheffler’s or Marshall’s future with the Broncos, although he noted he and Marshall got along most of the year.
Marshall, who’s made no secret he wants a big raise, said he’s going to leave his financial future up to his agent because “that’s not my specialty.” His focus is on traveling this offseason to Tokyo, Aruba and Italy, he said.
As for his hamstring, Marshall said he would have tried to play this weekend had the Broncos reached the playoffs.
Whether McDaniels would have allowed him to suit up is another story.
“I’m not sure,” Marshall said. “That’s all in the past now.”
So, too, might be his stint in Denver.
