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    Default Midwest roots shape way of life for Broncos' McDaniels

    Midwest roots shape way of life for Broncos' McDaniels
    By Mike Klis
    The Denver Post
    POSTED: 08/13/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
    UPDATED: 08/13/2010 01:45:20 AM MDT


    Josh McDaniels, left, and Mark Thewes, his top assistant, are both products of the football mecca of Canton, Ohio. (John Leyba, The Denver Post )
    CANTON, Ohio — The extensive menu at John's Grille ranged from the tuna melt and burger panini to filet mignon and chicken marsala.

    Only one entree, though, came recommended from the native son who eats most of his meals these days at the Broncos' headquarters in Dove Valley.

    And so, when in Canton . . .

    "When they schedule me for the electric chair?" Josh McDaniels said. "My last request will be the scrod from John's Grille."

    Even after it's cooked, the scrod says a few things about McDaniels, the Broncos' second-year coach. First, the tender and tasty scrod with its special seasonings and buttery flavor suggests McDaniels has good taste.

    "The Denver Broncos' nutritionist called us in June," said John Varavvas, the John of John's Grille. "He said Josh and Mark (Thewes, McDaniels' assistant and fellow Canton native) went on for about 20 minutes about how they really liked the scrod here."

    Next thing you know, Varavvas is sending seasonings, the recipe and cooking instructions to Bryan Snyder, the team nutritionist. Many days, the Broncos essentially have John's Grille scrod available for lunch or dinner.

    "It's great," McDaniels said. "Tastes just like the scrod at John's."

    What the choice of scrod mostly shows about the Broncos' coach, though, is how simply Midwest McDaniels is at his core.

    That 10-ounce, prime-cut scrod on the lunch menu at John's? It costs $8.99. And that includes your choice of potato or rice, a salad and roll.

    As one of 32 people in the world to have an NFL head coaching job, McDaniels is drawing roughly $3 million a year. Most people in that tax bracket probably would consider the $72 lobster tail — a la carte — from Del Frisco's as a last meal, not the $8.99 scrod meal deal at John's.

    McDaniels refuses to vary from what he is certain is best. To experience McDaniels' hometown is to better understand how every decision he has made

    as the Broncos' coach — getting rid of Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall, replacing them with Tim Tebow and Demaryius Thomas — had his principled upbringing at its root.

    "He's got (guts) this big," Mike Munson, son of the late New York Yankees great Thurman Munson, said on a hopping Friday night at Harmon's Pub while pantomiming the size of a mini-basketball.

    McDaniels has his critics. He has been perceived as arrogant. Maturity always comes into question when a guy gets his first head coaching gig at 32. Some people despise the hoodie. McDaniels wears it in part to honor his NFL coaching mentor, Bill Belichick, but mostly because, as any fall- weather fan would agree, no stitch of clothing is more comfortable than a hoodie.

    Call McDaniels a Belichick wannabe, if necessary. Just don't call McDaniels pretentious.

    "If Laura and I want to go to the movies, we go and sit there with a bucket of popcorn," McDaniels said. "That's how we like it. You know where I eat the most in the off season here? Red Robin. That's where my kids like to go."

    Still Canton's native son

    There may be better restaurants in Chicago (scrod, notwithstanding), more shows in Manhattan, a greater percentage of beautiful people and suntans at South Beach. But on Pro Football Hall of Fame weekend, Canton is the place to be.

    At Harmon's Pub, Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" is blasting from the sound system. Matt Cunningham, the pub's owner and one of McDaniels' closest friends, turns down the volume as the song hits the chorus. The entire joint takes it from there: "Whoooah, we're halfway there."

    The scene seems to be taken from the movie "Cocktail" starring Tom Cruise. The young men working behind the bar, though, and those on the other side, conjure up images of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in "Good Will Hunting."

    These are McDaniels' friends from high school. McDaniels is not a drinker — "There was never alcohol in my house," he said. "Every once in a while I'll have a glass of wine with my wife." — but his pals forgive him.

    "He's the most focused guy I've ever met," said friend James Waters. "Focused and loyal. One of the most loyal guys I've ever met. I tell you what, anybody says something bad about the guy around here, I don't put up with it."

    Walk into Harmon's Pub and on the far right wall, a framed autographed Cleveland Cavaliers jersey of LeBron James — who grew up in nearby Akron — has been unceremoniously removed. Perhaps you heard of the desertion. In its place? A framed, autographed Tim Tebow jersey.

    For the most part, fans don't love coaches. They carry real affections for Champ Bailey and Josh Cribbs. They admire Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. But nobody likes Belichick or Jimmy Johnson or Bill Parcells.

    What do the people who frequent Harmon's Pub think of their native son after such a drama-filled first season coaching the Broncos?

    "You know how it is, the people that boo are the loudest," Cunningham said. "But most people here, we all pull for Josh. Over the last year, people have really started to appreciate how special a job he has."

    It feels like home

    Canton, an hour's drive south of Cleveland, features more talk about the Browns and LeBron among the townspeople than of their own Josh McDaniels.

    "I followed the Broncos some," Varavvas said. "I would explain that going back through the years, the Browns and the Broncos have always been such a rivalry. I'm a Cleveland Browns fan, in fact a season-ticket holder. To be honest, where I found it to be a little bit of a challenge to root for the Broncos when I first started watching them last year, now I root for them like they're my team."

    McDaniels has moved away from his buddies and hometown acquaintances, lured by his true childhood love. He used to sleep with the new football he got every Christmas.

    He got his first coaching gig as an intern at Michigan State, then got the equivalent of a coaching internship with the New England Patriots. McDan- iels was on his way.

    Now he lives in Denver, where his job is to improve a football team that finished 8-8 last year.

    The Midwest will always be part of McDaniels, "but I don't ever want to leave this place, Colorado," he said. "That place is where I grew up. That's my hometown. That's where my roots are. That was where I was a kid, but now my kids have a chance to put down their own roots. Laura and I, we would never leave here if it's our choice."

    Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com

    http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15764170

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