Denver Broncos fire head coach Josh McDaniels

The Denver Broncos fired head coach Josh McDaniels on Monday.

The move comes 28 games into his tenure with the Broncos, in which he went 11-17 despite winning his first six games.
No interim successor was immediately named.

McDaniels' dismissal came one week after team owner Pat Bowlen said he was not interested in making a head coaching change. Less than a day later, however, Bowlen backtracked and said he would reevaluate McDaniels after the season.

Earlier Monday, McDaniels sidestepped a question asking if he was concerned about his job security.

"I am not worried about that," McDaniels said. "I am going to coach as hard as I can because that is my job and that is somebody else's decision."

McDaniels was fined $50,000 by the NFL last month when he revealed he did not immediately report the illegal recording of a San Francisco 49ers practice when the teams played in London in October.

McDaniels accepted responsibility for his role in the illegal recording, which the NFL said was performed solely by video director Steve Scarnecchia, who was fired.

The episode drew a connection to the original Spygate controversy for which the New England Patriots -- where McDaniels was offensive coordinator before joining the Broncos -- and head coach were fined a total $750,000 and stripped of a first-round pick in 2007. McDaniels said there was no connection between the two.

His final game was a 10-6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday that dropped the Broncos to 3-9 this season.

McDaniels is the second Broncos head coach fired in less than two years. He replaced Mike Shanahan, who was ousted after the 2008 season.

-- Sean Leahy

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