Financial implications of McDaniel’s firing still unclear

2011 could be a very expensive year for the Denver Broncos.

When the team decided to part ways with coach Josh McDaniels on Dec. 6,  they did so in the second year of his four-year, $11.9 million contract. Unlike player contracts in the NFL, which generally don’t include a lot of guaranteed money which makes it easy for teams to release players once they begin to under-perform, coaches’ contracts are guaranteed. That means the Broncos could be responsible for paying McDaniels $7.5 million over the next two years.

Compounding that fact is that the Broncos are still on the hook for two more years with Mike Shanahan, who was owed $20 million when he was fired less than two years ago. Shanahan has since signed with the Redskins, relieving the Broncos of about $4 million per season. Still, the Broncos’ coaching expenses were some of the highest in the league in 2010, approximately $6.7 million, with a little over $3 million funneled directly to Shanahan. Now, with the firing of McDaniels, the Broncos may need to seriously consider the bottom line in their next hire, because paying two coaches almost $7 million dollars annually not to coach your team isn’t something this franchise can afford.

But there may be a bit of silver lining in what may be the most embarrassing moment in franchise history. The Broncos and McDaniels were both fined $50,000 after it was discovered that the team’s director of video operations, Steve Scarnecchia, secretly taped a portion of the San Francisco 49ers walkthrough practice in London. Though the league’s investigation ultimately found that McDaniels did not watch the film, the time between when he was approached with the videotape and when he reported it to team officials was over two weeks.

The Broncos stood by McDaniels at the time, and COO Joe Ellis said during a teleconference with the press that the offense was not one that McDaniels could be fired for, the Broncos may be eating those words soon enough. The most likely scenario is that McDaniels would file a grievance with the team for firing him “with cause,” and the Broncos would really have to distance themselves from a very public statement from one of the team’s highest-level executives.

For the new year, let’s hope former quarterback and future Broncos’ executive, John Elway, known for his rocket-like arm and valiant fourth-quarter comebacks, can turn things around in short order.

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