Sep 11, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels looks on from the sidelines during the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Ex-Bronco shares where Josh McDaniels went wrong as head coach

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Dan Benton | Last updated 10/1/22

Josh McDaniels may have a football IQ that’s through the roof, but his ability to connect with people on a human level is clearly lacking.

That appears evident now that he’s with the Las Vegas Raiders and was abundantly clear during his time with the Denver Broncos. But just in case anyone needed further proof, retired NFL offensive lineman Tyler Polumbus provided it earlier this week.

In a series of tweets, Polumbus detailed McDaniels’ lacking social skills and broke down how the coach treated grown men like children.

2.After completing training camp with fully padded 2 a days as often as was legal he hyped up a special reward after practice. It was an ice cream truck and a t-shirt that said “Ironman”. Our reward was ice cream….thanks for the creamsicle

— Tyler Polumbus (@Tyler_Polumbus) September 29, 2022

Instead of building players up, McDaniels also made it a routine point to tear them down. In fact, that’s how every single day started for the Broncos.

4. We had about 25 slogans painted on the walls. God Forbid you forget what the slogan was above the door entering the cafeteria…Josh would call players out in team meeting & ask what each slogan said. If you forgot a single word…Ass Chewing…

— Tyler Polumbus (@Tyler_Polumbus) September 29, 2022

Even after the 2010 season had concluded and McDaniels knew he was on his way out, he wasn’t able to reel himself in. He shredded the players during their exit interviews — all while calling out upper management.

“Coach are you alright”. Response.. “That’s a hard man to work for”. Me..”So are you coming back?” Coach..”Hell no.” Me..”you getting fired or leaving?” Coach..”I don’t care but I’m getting the hell out of here”

— Tyler Polumbus (@Tyler_Polumbus) September 29, 2022

Ultimately, Polumbus came to the same conclusion many others came to: McDaniels has a brilliant football mind but like many other Bill Belichick disciples, struggles with the human element.

I will cap this thread off w/ 1 final thought…

Josh knew the X’s and O’s as well as any coach I’ve been around. You won’t hear any former players saying he doesn’t know football. He just didn’t know how to handle people.

He says he has learned from his mistakes. Time will tell

— Tyler Polumbus (@Tyler_Polumbus) September 29, 2022

McDaniels has already come under a lot of criticism this year following the Raiders’ 0-3 start and it shows no signs of slowing down.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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