After doing some research, it's become clear that Bowlen is the one that told McDaniels trade Jay Cutler, and let him take the criticism for it; Bowlen is the one that showed a lack of confidence in Kyle Orton and told McDaniels to draft Tebow; and Bowlen is the one that told McDaniels to play Tebow instead of Orton - despite the fact that Orton is having the greatest season for a QB in Broncos history.
Pre-McDaniels, it's also possible that Bowlen is the one that wanted Shanahan to draft Jay Cutler, and made him start him over Jake Plummer, who had led the Broncos to the AFC Championship game.
Bowlen also wanted Dan Reeves to play the young John Elway over Gary Kubiak, who had played in Reeves' system in college and knew it better than John.
It's also evident that Bowlen doesn't want an outsider leading the Broncos (which brings up the question of why he hired Josh in the first place). This stems from the beginning of his ownership with the Broncos, every hire he's made has come from within - they were always coaches that had been with the Broncos. This is why it's not a surprise that we're told that Bowlen wants to hire the aforementioned Kubiak, who, though his head coaching tenure in Houston has been utterly mediocre, has been with the Broncos from 1983-2005 and as such is preferable to the unfamiliar McDaniels.
This last fact is what makes the affair worse. The Broncos promised Josh a chance to come in and implement his system. They knew that it was a complicated system that took at least 2 years before it would bear its fruits, and they knew that Josh was young and would require some patience. But they did not show it. And unlike Shanahan, where Bowlen waited and waited and waited for results, McDaniels did not even get his chance. Now, Bowlen wants to hire someone with whom he is familiar, but this person has none of McDaniels' talent and understanding of the game (Kubiak is an offensive guy, whereas McDaniels also focused on defense and special teams).
They're trading familiarity for the endless possibilities of an outsider. That's ultimately it. Josh was an outsider in a land that didn't take kindly to outsiders.
Broncos fans never accepted him from day one. The media never accepted him and tried to run him out of town (just read the Denver Post for proof). And, worst of all, the Denver Broncos never accepted him. No matter what, he'd never be embraced by that city. And that's a fucking tragedy.
Now, players are going to lose their jobs. Coaches are going to lose their jobs. Orton is a dead duck. Tebow will be thrown into the fire by a coach that has no idea how to play him. The offensive line will be torn down. Champ Bailey's leaving. Brian Dawkins will have wasted the final years of his career playing for Bowlen's team. Elvis Dumervil's future is now in question. DJ Williams may have to switch positions again. And Knowson Moreno will have to learn a different system for the third time in his three-year career (next year). And the Denver Broncos have become the Oakland Raiders. Three coaches in two years. No trust in your head coach. No trust in your players. No stability. Cellar dwellars in the bottom-feeding AFC West.
Josh had no chance. And for this, I will never forgive the Denver Broncos organisation, the city of Denver, and media of the city of Denver. Today, I am ashamed to call myself a Broncos fan, and I don't know whether I want to continue to be one.
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