NFL: Former Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels Named Rams Offensive Coordinator

After a couple weeks of interviews and negotiations, NFL.com has announced that Josh McDaniels is the new offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams.

Earlier today, news broke that a deal with McDaniels was not likely, since the Rams were leaning towards sticking with a coach with roots in a West Coast offense. 

Rumors then arose that McDaniels was a front runner for the Seahawks offensive coordinator job, due to the recent firing of Jeremy Bates. 

New names in the mix included the Falcons’ Bill Musgrave and the Vikings’ Brad Childress and Darrell Bevell.

No contract details are currently available, but one can imagine that the Rams felt comfortable hiring McDaniels due to the success he had with quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Kyle Orton.

The New England Patriots had to turn to then back up Matt Cassel when Tom Brady suffered a season ending injury in 2008.

This was when McDaniels was the offensive coordinator for the Pats.  

Despite not starting a football game since high school, Cassel finished the season with a solid 3,693 yards and a respectable 21 touchdowns alongside an 89.4 quarterback rating. 

Cassel also set a career high as a starter in the yards per attempt category, with 7.2.  

Therefore, it should not be hard to believe what McDaniels was able to do with Kyle Orton in 2010. 

With McDaniels in his second year of a head coaching gig, Orton started off on a tear in his sixth season as a starter. 

In the first half of the regular season, he threw 13 touchdowns to just five interceptions and with 2,510 passing yards.

No longer did Orton look like just another average quarterback.  Instead, he looked like a guy who was legitimately challenging Dan Marino’s record for most passing yards in a season (5,084 in 1984).

Certainly, there is no need to have a selective memory in this situation, as Orton did cool off in the second half of the season. 

Although, he was playing through injuries and encountered better teams in the latter portion of the season, both of which can account for less impressive stat lines. 

His touchdown to interception ratio was still a commendable seven to four in this five game span. 

Now, McDaniels should have a much easier task in front as him as he develops Sam Bradford. 

Bradford, the front runner for the Offensive Rookie of the Year, broke the record for pass attempts by a rookie this season, and had impressive totals in just about every major category.

He boasted 18 touchdowns, 3,512 yards, six yards per attempt, and 15 interceptions.  All very strong numbers for a first year signal caller. 

With the duo of McDaniels and Bradford now a major staple in the Rams offense, do not be surprised if Bradford shatters his rookie totals in 2011. 

The Rams have also gone forward to confirm the McDaniels hiring on the team’s official Twitter account.