Denver Broncos rivalry with Raiders just got even better

The rivalry between the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders has long been one of the best in the NFL.

Though the Denver Broncos have had solid rivalries with the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and even the Seattle Seahawks back when they played in the AFC West, the team’s biggest rivalry has always been with the hated Raiders.

In total, the Broncos and Raiders have met 125 times over the course of their history’s with the Raiders holding a 69-54-2 edge in the all-time series. That includes winning the last four games between the teams.

As much as these teams don’t like each other and as much as these two fanbases don’t care for one another, one man will make things even more tense.

Josh McDaniels.

The Raiders have decided not to make interim coach Rich Bisaccia the head coach and instead have reportedly hired McDaniels to be their new head coach.

That will be a fun wrinkle to this series, right?

McDaniels was brought in to coach the Broncos way back in 2009, replacing the highly successful Mike Shanahan, who happens to have once been the head coach of the Raiders. He was fired from that position by Raiders owner Al Davis in a tenure that was tumultuous to say the least.

Of course, tumultuous could also be used to describe the one head coaching stop that McDaniels has had during his career, which of course was in Denver.

A highly successful offensive coordinator for the Patriots, McDaniels came over to Denver and looked like he would become the next big thing in coaching. That looked all the more evident when he got off to a 6-0 start in 2009. But it was all downhill from there.

Josh McDaniels was fired prior to the conclusion of the 2010 season

McDaniels and the Broncos finished that season at 8-8 and the next season, with a 3-9 record, he was fired before the year was over. Of course, that was largely due to a videotaping scandal that had leaked out, putting one of the true black eyes in Broncos history on the organization.

McDaniels went 11-17 in his short stint in Denver. He hasn’t been a head coach since. However, he did land back on his feet in New England, under Bill Belichick, and his name comes up every year as a candidate for a head coaching vacancy.

That is the case again this year.

McDaniels seems to be calculated with his approach now. He wanted the right job. Many thought that he would just wait out Belichick in New England. In 2018, he agreed to become coach of the Indianapolis Colts and was announced as such, only to change his mind that same day. A very Belichick type of move.

However, the right spot might just be in Vegas. Seeing McDaniels stroll the sideline leading the silver and black is something that will make Broncos fans dislike that team even more.

And ultimately, that will make this already great rivalry even better.